UK Oil & Gas plc’s joint venture (JV) partner has paused drilling for new seismic data after a directional drilling assembly became stuck in Basur-3 (B3) appraisal oil well in Turkey.
DEVIATED SIDETRACK
The directional drilling assembly became stuck after the well reached a drilled depth immediately above the Garzan and Mardin targets, which remain untested.
Operator Aladdin Middle East (AME) recovered the directional drilling assembly from the well’s 12¼” hole section and returned it to surface.
As the existing 12¼” hole section is unsuitable for onwards drilling, AME plans a deviated mechanical sidetrack, B-3s, to test the Garzan and Mardin targets in order to appraise the Basur-1 oil discovery.
The JV’s new seismic acquisition is scheduled to start during August 2021.
AME plans to pause drilling until after the acquisition and processing of the new seismic data over the sidetrack’s envisaged trajectory to ensure it is optimally located.
UKOG said it had sufficient funds available to deliver the sidetrack and seismic.
PRUDENT
Chief executive Stephen Sanderson said that the unforeseen delay in delivering the Basur appraisal objective was disappointing, but the company was pleased by AME’s “exemplary performance in resolving the stuck drilling assembly situation.”
“We concur with AME that the most prudent course of action is to pause commencing the sidetrack until new modern seismic can be incorporated to further de-risk drilling and help achieve our objective.”
UKOG Turkey Ltd holds a 50% non-operated interest in the surrounding 305 km² Resan M47-b1, b2 licence.
The Basur-3 oil appraisal well is located within the north-western structural culmination of the 60 km² Basur-Resan anticlinal structure, with a surface location approximately 1.2 km north of the 1964 Basur-1 oil discovery well.