Frontera Discovers Hydrocarbons in Ecuador

Frontera Energy Corporation (TSX: FEC) has announced that it has discovered hydrocarbons at the Jandaya-1 exploration well on the Perico block in Ecuador.

Jandaya-1 was spud on December 7, 2021, to test an exploration prospect in the northeastern portion of the block and was drilled to a total depth of 10,975 feet, Frontera outlined. A total of 78 feet vertical depth of potential hydrocarbon bearing reservoir was encountered in three formations, according to the company, which revealed that the initial 24-hour test average flow rate for the Lower Hollin formation was approximately 925 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Well clean up and additional flow testing in two other zones will be completed in the coming weeks, Frontera noted. The company said it is now preparing the required permits to move forward with a long term test for at least six months or a longer period of time if approved by authorities. Additional appraisal activities will be conducted in the near future to confirm size and mid- to long-term production levels, Frontera outlined.

"We are pleased to announce a discovery at the Jandaya-1 exploration well. Jandaya-1 is Frontera’s first operated well in Ecuador and the first well drilled on acreage awarded during Ecuador’s 2019 Intracampos bid round,” Orlando Cabrales, the chief executive officer of Frontera, said in a company statement.

“Thanks to strong support from the government of Ecuador and the communities near the well-site, Jandaya-1 was drilled, completed and tested on-time and per our expectations. We anticipate putting the well on long term test in February 2022, once permits are obtained,” Cabrales added in the statement.

“We're optimistic that the Jandaya-1 well represents the first of many near field opportunities already identified across the Perico block,” Cabrales went on to say.

Frontera revealed that it expects to spud the Tui-1 exploration well in the southern portion of the Perico block in February 2022. The Tui-1 exploration well is located approximately four miles from the Jandaya-1 well and is expected to be drilled to a total depth of approximately 10,972 feet. Additional prospects on the Perico block have been identified and are being matured for future drilling, according to Frontera.

The company holds approximately 16,700 net acres in the Perico and Espejo exploration blocks in Ecuador. The blocks are located near existing production and infrastructure in Sucumbíos Province in the northeastern part of Ecuador, in the Oriente basin.

Last month, Frontera revealed that approximately 90 percent of the planned footage of the Kawa-1 exploration well in the Corentyne Block offshore Guyana had been drilled and noted that the initial results suggest an active hydrocarbon system was present at the Kawa-1 location.

In February 2020, Frontera announced a discovery in Colombia. The La Belleza-1 exploration well on the VIM-1 block was drilled to a total depth of 11,680 feet and a total of 179 feet of potential hydrocarbon bearing reservoir was encountered in the Cienaga De Oro formation, Frontera revealed in a company statement at the time.

Frontera is a Canadian public company involved in the exploration, development, production, transportation, storage and sale of oil and natural gas in South America, including related investments in both upstream and midstream facilities. The company has interests in 34 exploration and production blocks in Colombia, Ecuador and Guyana, and pipeline and port facilities in Colombia, according to its website.

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