United Oil and Gas plc announced the start of its 2021 drilling campaign with the ASH-3 development oil well in the Abu Sennan licence in the Western Desert, Egypt.
SCHEDULE
Kuwait Energy Egypt began operations on 4 January at the licence in which United holds a 22% working interest.
The hydrocarbon exploration, development and production company expects the ASH-3 well to take up to 60 days to drill and test, with funding for its share to come from operational cashflow.
ASH-3 DEVELOPMENT WELL
The vertical development well will be drilled by an EDC-50 rig which has long been used in the Western Desert.
ASH-3 is targeting the producing Alam El Bueib (AEB) reservoirs at a depth of 3,600m to 3,950m in an area of the ASH field, up-dip of the ASH-2 production well.
The ASH-2 well came onstream at the start of 2020 and has produced more than one million barrels to date (gross) with current rates of some 4,500 barrels of oil per day on a 48/64″ choke (gross).
ASD-1X EXPLORATION WELL
The second well in the 2021 drilling schedule will be the ASD-1X exploration well.
This will target the Abu Roash reservoirs in the four-way dip-closed Prospect D structure in the north of the licence, close to the producing Al Jahraa field.
United said that if successful, ASD-1X could be quickly brought into production.
The company said that the historic drilling success rate on the Abu Sennan licence is around 80%.
FURTHER WELLS
Chief executive Brian Larkin added that there was “great potential” in the ASH field.
“If the outstanding success that was achieved in the ASH-2 well can be replicated here, it will be a fantastic result for the joint venture partners.”
He added that, following the deferral of drilling during 2020, further wells would be drilled as part of the 2021 campaign.