Europa Completes Bilca-2

A clean-up rate of approximately 1 mmscfpd, achieved through an 8-mm choke is comparable to the flow rates obtained on a similar choke on the Bilca-1 well, which went on to test at 6.3 mmscfpd (1,050 boepd) through a 20-mm choke. The well has now been temporarily shut-in in preparation for commercial field production, which is due to commence in late-August.

The Bilca project lies in the northern part of the Romanian Carpathians, a prolific oil and gas province. Europa and its partners drilled Bilca-2 on the western extension of the Bilca seismic anomaly in early 2005 following the success of Bilca-1, and the well was cased without being tested. Europa’s partners include Falcon Oil & Gas srl (a subsidiary of Aurelian Oil & Gas plc), Romgaz SA, and Millennium IRL (a subsidiary of Ascent Resources plc).

“We are pleased with these initial results for the Bilca-2 well,” said Paul Barrett, Europa’s managing director. “This will ensure we have a full complement of production wells ready to supply the start-up of the Bilca production facilities in a little over a month’s time.”