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Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Gulfsands Petroleum has begun drilling the Al Krima 1 well (AKR-1) well on the Rharb Center Permit in Morocco. The well, which is being drilled using the COFOR SAS rig, is the first of nine well to be drilled on the Rharb permits in two back-to-back drilling programs.
The AKR-1 well is planned to be drilled to a total vertical depth of approximately 1,450 meters and is designed to evaluate two distinct Miocene aged reservoirs, contained within a fault bound structural closure, that have been identified from seismic data as having the potential to be gas bearing. The AKR-1 well is located very close to existing infrastructure, with the surface location of the well lying within one kilometer of a gas export pipeline into which it is anticipated a successful well would be quickly tied in for delivery of gas to pre-existing demand from local buyers.
The company expects that drilling operations will be completed within 28 days.
Gulfsands also reported that the 3D seismic survey being carried out over the highly prospective south-western part of the Rharb permit area is almost complete. Final data capture is expected to be completed by the end of October and thereafter the data will be processed for use early next year to assist the company in the further delineation of drilling targets for the remainder of the company’s nine well drilling program.
A second seismic program, designed to capture approximately 650 km of 2D data on the prospective Fes permit is continuing and is anticipated to be completed, subject to weather, early-2014. Processing and interpretation will follow immediately thereafter. This 2D seismic program is designed to assist in the identification and prioritization of additional drilling targets on the Fes permit and to more accurately define existing drill targets identified using the results of an earlier gravity survey program and legacy 2D seismic data.
The company anticipates drilling at least one, and possibly a second well on the Fes permit area during 2014 using the data captured in this 2D seismic survey. The first well in this proposed three-well program is currently anticipated to commence drilling in mid-2014.
CEO Mahdi Sajjad commented: “We are very pleased that the Company has now begun drilling operations in Morocco and we look forward to seeing the results of this first well later next month. This significant milestone has been achieved as a result of the excellent cooperation we have received from the management of ONHYM, our government owned partner in our activities in Morocco, and the commitment and important contribution of a number of our key technical and administrative personnel who we have drawn from our other projects in the MENA region to help get our activities underway as quickly as possible and to ensure we establish a cost effective operation in Morocco.
“We continue to look for opportunities to expand our business in Morocco but for the moment, our number one priority and focus is on making a success of our Rharb drilling program and to the early commercialization of the gas resources we are targeting.”
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