Tethys Petroleum Limited: Tasaran Exploration Well AKK15 Flows Gas
Wednesday, August 13th 2008
Tethys Petroleum Limited announced that the AKK15 well, its latest exploration well in the Akkulka Exploration block in Kazakhstan, has tested gas from the Tasaran sand interval at good rates.
The main Tasaran sand interval was encountered at a depth of 1,791 feet (546 metres) and a 20 feet (6 metre) interval was tested. The well has been tested on several choke sizes and flowed at a rate of 7.1 MMcf/d (201 Mcm/d) on a 60/64ths in (24 mm) choke with a flowing tubing head pressure of 280 psig (19 atmospheres). Third party engineering analysis of the initial test data indicates that the well’s production is limited by the size of the current production tubing, extrapolation to a larger 4 inch (102 mm) internal diameter tubing indicates that the well could flow at 17MMcf/d (480 Mcm/d) with a flowing tubing head pressure of 100 psi (6.8 atmospheres). The net sand thickness and reservoir quality appears better than the AKK14 well on the wireline logs, and the Tasaran is generally thicker and more continuous than the overlying Kyzyloi sand.
Well AKK15 is located on a separate structure some 5.4 miles (8.7 kilometres) to the east of the AKK14 well, the first gas discovery made in the Tasaran sandstone in the area. Following on from AKK14 further work has been carried out by Tethys on the prospectivity of the Tasaran in the Akkulka and surrounding Kul-Bas exploration areas, and AKK15 is the first well with the Tasaran as its primary target. The Tasaran is deeper than the Kyzyloi sand, which is the main gas reservoir currently being developed in the area and is the producing horizon in Tethys’ nearby Kyzyloi field. Although not the primary target, a thin Kyzyloi sand was encountered in the AKK15 well with gas being indicated on wireline logs. This zone will not be tested at present but is planned to be produced in the future as part of the development of this deposit.
The AKK15 well is located close to the Central Akkulka gas development area, which Tethys is currently tying into its Kyzyloi gas pipeline infrastructure as Phase 2 of its shallow gas development. As such it should be possible to integrate the AKK15 well discovery into this development quickly allowing commercial gas production from this discovery as early as the end of this year.
Graham Wall, Vice President Technical of Tethys commented, “The AKK15 well was the first of our exploration wells with the Tasaran sandstone as its primary target, in a separate prospect to that tested by the AKK14 well. This well has the highest productivity for a single zone tested by Tethys in its shallow wells to date which reflects very good reservoir parameters and confirms the high productivity of this sandstone unit, already shown to have good potential in the AKK14 well, where it flowed at some 7.5 MMcf/d (212 Mcm/d). These well results and the results of our recently acquired seismic and AVO analysis have now highlighted the Tasaran as a significant new gas target in the area.”
The rig which drilled AKK15 has now been mobilised to the KUL02 exploration well location, and that well has now commenced drilling. KUL02 is located in the central part of the Kul-Bas block, some 34 miles (55 kilometres) to the north-north-east of AKK15.
Tethys is focused on oil and gas exploration and production activities in Central Asia with activities currently in the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Republic of Tajikistan. This highly prolific oil and gas area is rapidly developing and Tethys believes that significant potential exists in both exploration and in discovered deposits.
