Matra Petroleum Makes 'Good Progress' on Sokolovskoe Oil Discovery

Russia-focused oil and gas firm Matra Petroleum reported Monday an operations update on progress to production from its 100 percent-owned Sokolovskoe oil field discovery in Orenburg.

During a long-term test in 2011, Well A-13 established water-free oil production. Analysis of production and pressure data suggested that this well should be capable of oil production at around 100 barrels of oil per day following the installation of surface production facilities and a down-hole electrical submersible pump. 
 
Fabrication work on the production equipment for Well A-13 has commenced and the major items of equipment are expected to be on site by late February/early March. Production from the well will be restarted shortly thereafter. Once commissioned, it is anticipated oil production will commence at about 40 bopd. A work-over rig will then be brought in to install a down-hole electrical submersible pump to maximize production from the well which should increase to around 100 bopd. 
 
The actual timings of commissioning of these facilities and production start-up is subject to change due to the spring snow thaw that can make transportation of heavy equipment to the well-site difficult and could extend the commissioning period by up to four to six weeks.
 
Drilling of the proposed production Well A-14 and the acquisition of the full-field 3D data are needed as the next steps to fully evaluate the Sokolovskoe oil field before proceeding with a full field development decision.
 
The company anticipates that the proposed Well A-14 will confirm the presence of "Patch Reefs" that are expected to exhibit much better reservoir qualities and production characteristics than those seen in either Well A-12 or Well A-13 which are located on the flank of the field.
 
The company also anticipates that the location of Well A-14 will allow it to intersect the oil reservoir at a higher elevation (i.e. at the top of the structure providing a thicker reservoir section) within the predicted reef build-up. The company believes the proposed Well A-14 to be relatively low-risk as it is located at the top of the structure, is up dip of proven oil in Well A-12 which flowed at 960 bopd on test and is located towards Well 309 on the adjacent permit which flowed at 1,850 bopd on test.
 
If the proposed Well A-14 is successful, Matra believes it could add up to an additional 10 million barrels to the company's contingent resources.
 
Completion of a full field 3D seismic survey planned for the first half of 2012 will assist in confirming the full extent of the Sokolovskoe structure and assist in locating future drilling locations particularly in the North Eastern part of the field. Further seismic is not required before drilling Well A-14 as that area has good well and seismic control.
 
"Good progress is being made on the fabrication and installation of production equipment on the Sokolovskoe oil discovery and we are excited about achieving oil production in the near future from our considerable oil reserves on this field," said Matra's Managing Director, Peter Hind.


WHAT DO YOU THINK?


Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.

Most Popular Articles