Zenith Energy Ltd (LON:ZEN), the international oil & gas production company operating the largest onshore oilfield in Azerbaijan, today announced that the commencement of well deepening operations in well C-37 is scheduled to begin on July 26, 2019.
Well C-37 Deepening Operations
The Company’s drilling activities have two objectives.
The first objective will be to deepen well C-37’s total depth of 3,987 metres by approximately 30-40 metres and drill all the clastic layers of the Middle Eocene formation.
The Company’s geological and reservoir investigations have indicated that the Middle Eocene formation in well C-37 may hold significant oil reserves. This view has been supported by the fact that an adjacent well, C-22, achieved a sustained rate of production of approximately 700 barrels per day from the interval between 3,902-4,014 metres.
The second objective will be to penetrate the previously untested and recently identified Upper Cretaceous (Mesozoic) formation structure by deepening well C-37 by an additional 250-300 metres. Upon completion of deepening activities, a series of wireline acquisitions and production tests will be performed first in the Upper Cretaceous carbonates and later in the Eocene clastic sequences.
The Company’s geological and reservoir teams believe that the testing of the unexplored Cretaceous play has the potential to provide valuable information regarding new prospective exploration activity to be performed across its Azerbaijan asset.
Well deepening activities are expected to be completed during approximately 30 days and the Company will provide updates as appropriate in accordance with operational progress.
BD-260 Drilling Rig
As previously announced, the Company has recently taken delivery of a Top Drive System which is expected to greatly enhance the performance of drilling activities, specifically on account of the increased safety and operational flexibility offered over the traditional rotary system. The Company can confirm that the Top Drive System has successfully been installed and is currently being tested in preparation for the commencement of drilling operations.
In addition, the BD-260 has undergone a full host of upgrades to its mud system which have increased its capacity in preparation for the requirements of future drilling activities.
Zena Drilling Limited, the Company’s fully owned service company subsidiary, has acquired approximately US$250,000 of spare parts to mitigate against the risk of delays being incurred during drilling activities as a result of equipment failures.
It is expected that the operational performance and the speed of future drilling operations performed by the BD-260 drilling rig shall progressively increase once the set-up and introductory operational activities are completed.
Well C-30 Civil Works
The Company can confirm that the commencement of civil works in well C-30 is expected during the first week of August 2019.
Andrea Cattaneo, Chief Executive Officer of Zenith, commented:
“I am pleased that we now have a confirmed date for the start of well deepening activities. The activation of the BD-260 drilling has taken longer than expected, however, this should be viewed in the context of the fact that this is the rig’s first operational deployment in Azerbaijan, and that the extensive work done at this initial phase will be extremely beneficial during the long-term operational deployment of the rig across our Azerbaijan asset.
We look forward with excitement to the start of activities and what a positive result could mean for the Company’s successful development going forward.”
