Sorta OT...Ivanhoe update...Cali drilling...
Ivanhoe Updates East Texas, California Activities
Ivanhoe Energy Inc. says it has been pursuing two important exploration plays in the United States: the Bossier gas play in East Texas and deep-gas drilling in California.
Additionally, the steam injection pilot program being conducted at the South Midway Sunset field in California has been completed with favorable results, Ivanhoe said in a news release.
In east Texas, Ivanhoe and its joint venture partner Unocal Corporation have completed drilling the initial well on the Creslenn Ranch prospect on the Bossier trend. The 1-Trinity Materials well was drilled to a total depth of 12,240 feet and encountered approximately 120 net feet of Bossier sand, which indicates the potential for natural gas production. The companies will commence fracturing and testing operations within the next few weeks.
After setting and cementing casing, the drilling rig was moved to the second location on the Creslenn Ranch prospect and began drilling the 2- Trinity Materials well on Dec. 30.
"We are very encouraged that these results have closely matched our pre- drill estimates of Bossier sand thickness. Our next step is to determine the daily production rate that may be achieved from this apparent gas discovery which should commence before the end of January," said Ivanhoe Chairman David Martin in a news release.
Since announcing the joint venture with Unocal in October, several prospects have been identified and the joint leasehold position has grown to approximately 48,000 gross acres in Henderson, Anderson and Freestone counties of Texas. The current exploration drilling plan calls for up to four wells at the Creslenn Ranch prospect followed by at least two additional wells on a separate prospect in Freestone County. The Creslenn Ranch prospect is located in Henderson County and is approximately 75 miles south of Dallas, Texas. Unocal is operator and will invest $10 million toward initial drilling costs to offset the front-end exploration costs incurred by Ivanhoe. After investment equilibrium is reached, the companies will share exploration, development and infrastructure costs equally.
The NWLH 1-22 deep-gas well in California has successfully drilled to a depth of 18,400 feet and encountered the top of the objective Temblor formation. However, prior to the setting of casing, geologic information from this portion of the Temblor formation indicated that the bottom hole could be placed in a more structurally favorable location. Drilling operations have resumed and total depth should be reached over the next four to six weeks, Ivanhoe said.
"It is not uncommon for wells of this depth to be sidetracked to a more favorable location. Since we have not yet set casing below 12,000 feet, we will be able to kick off the well bore and drill to total depth within a few weeks of our original drilling timetable," said Martin. The NWLH 1-22 well is in Kern County and operated by Aera Energy LLC. Ivanhoe has a 42% working interest in this well and an approximate average of 46% within its entire Lost Hills position. In addition to Ivanhoe and Aera, joint venture partners in this well include PYR Energy Corporation and Ceniarth, Inc.
In the South Midway-Sunset field in Kern County, California, a process of cyclic steam injection was initiated in late September and included five wells by the end of the pilot program in November. The results have been very encouraging with individual well production rates peaking at 2.5 times over pre-steam production levels within three weeks after the steam was injected, Ivanhoe said. Overall production from the five wells in the program increased from a pre-steam level of 90 bbls per day to 200 bbls per day.
The positive response from this pilot program supports the application of a cyclic steam injection process over the entire 29 wells in the field and will have a favorable impact on daily oil production and proved reserves for the field, the company said. South Midway-Sunset is currently producing approximately 500 bbls per day. Ivanhoe has a 100% working interest in the field. |
