SDX Energy Inc, the North Africa-focused oil and gas company, has announced a conventional natural gas discovery at its LNB-1 exploration well in Morocco.
The gas discovery contained heavier hydrocarbon components throughout, which is indicative of a thermogenic hydrocarbon source rock. In a press release, the company explains that, “These types of shows have not been seen to date in other parts of the basin and indicate that a new petroleum system has been encountered in this area. Based on the mudlog shows, reservoir quality information from the formation cuttings, analogue fields (outside the Gharb basin), and the size of the feature as currently mapped, a preliminary recoverable gas volume has been estimated by management.” This discovery yielded a mid-case volume of 10.2bn scf of conventional natural gas and 55 mbl of condensate.
The LNB-1 well was drilled to a total depth of 1861 meters. The primary target was in the Lafkerena sequence, where 300 meters of gas bearing horizons were encountered in a significantly over-pressured section. The mudlog obtained through the section showed elevated gas readings of more than 20% with multiple sections above 50%. This section could not be logged using conventional methods due to hole conditions.
Paul Welch, President and CEO of SDX, says of the discovery, “We are very excited about the results of this exploration well. It was a higher risk exploration prospect than previous drilling in Sebou, as it was a sequence that had not been previously penetrated in a similar structural location. We had anticipated a higher-pressure section, based upon offset drilling in the area, but the actual pressures encountered, the thickness of the section, and the type and amount of shows significantly exceeded our expectations.” He further states that the company is “in the early planning phases of determining how best to complete and test this section. The estimated volume potential is very encouraging and I look forward to updating the market further on our activities in due course. Meanwhile, we have one more exploration well to drill on the permit in this campaign and I am looking forward to some more positive results based upon our success in LNB-1.”
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