CALGARY, Dec. 4, 2013 /CNW/ - Oryx Petroleum Corporation Limited ("Oryx Petroleum" or the "Corporation") today announces the successful discovery at Zey Gawra in the Hawler license area.. The ZEG-1 well was flow tested at an average rate of 4,800 barrels per day of light crude oil from an 81 metre column. A Notice of Discovery has been filed by the Corporation with the Kurdistan Region Government. Oryx Petroleum is the operator and has a 65% participating and working interest in the Hawler license area.
Commenting today, Henry Legarre, Oryx Petroleum's Chief Operating Officer, stated:
"Hawler is proving to be a prolific license area. We are very pleased to have made our third consecutive oil discovery there this year, achieving excellent flow rates of high quality crude from the Cretaceous. More work needs to be done to confirm the size of the discovery but we believe it will be substantially larger than our pre-drill estimates. Importantly, the reservoir characteristics in the Cretaceous, notably the matrix porosity, confirm our experience with the other wells we have drilled in the Hawler license area. We are already planning our first Zey Gawra appraisal well and we are confident that the discovery will be established as commercial."
Testing Program and Results
The KS Discoverer rig spudded the ZEG-1 well in April 2013 targeting the Zey Gawra prospect, an anticline lying on the Kirkuk field trend that is the last closure to the northwest of the Khurmala Dome. The ZEG-1 well targeted oil potential in the Cretaceous, Jurassic and the Triassic.
Netherland Sewell & Associates, Inc. estimated as of March 31, 2013 that the Zey Gawra prospect contained 23 MMbbl of unrisked gross (100%) prospective resources (risked: 9 MMbbl). ZEG-1 reached a total depth of 4,398 metres in August when the KS Discoverer rig was moved to spud Banan. The smaller Romfor 22 rig was then brought in to conduct the testing.
The ZEG-1 well was logged down to the Triassic and there were oil shows of varying quality in the Cretaceous and the Upper and Lower Jurassic. As such, four cased hole drill stem tests ("DST") were conducted including two in the Lower Jurassic, one in the Upper Jurassic and one in the Cretaceous.
The DST conducted in the Cretaceous tested the Shiranish, Kometan and Qamchuqa intervals which are considered to form one continuous reservoir. The Cretaceous DST was successfully flowed at sustained rates in intervals over a period of four days using a series of different choke sizes. The maximum average rate achieved was approximately 4,800 bbl/d of light oil for a 15 hour period using a 64/64" choke. No pressure decline was observed during the tests. The crude from the Cretaceous was measured on site at 35° API gravity. Small quantities of natural gas and hydrogen sulfide were encountered.
The 81 metre oil column in the Cretaceous was successfully established between the free water level, as evidenced by Modular Formation Dynamics Tester ("MDT") measurements, and the top of the interval perforated for testing. This oil column includes a 64 metre section in the Qamchuqa. As with the Demir Dagh test in the Cretaceous, the matrix porosity in the Qamchuqa, evidenced by logs and core samples, was significantly better than the Corporation had expected. The 106 metre section of the Shiranish above the established oil column, may also contain oil, however the ZEG-1 well did not encounter matrix porosity or evidence of a fracture network in this interval. The potential oil bearing nature of the Shiranish will be further evaluated as part of the appraisal program.
The DST conducted in the Upper Jurassic tested the Najmah formation which has a thickness of approximately 750 metres. Without the use of a pump, the well flowed what appears to be very heavy oil to surface on a non-continuous basis over a 14 hour period. The quality of the oil could not be measured properly on site and samples will be analyzed to better assess potential in the Najmah. The results of the Najmah DST were similar to the Najmah DST conducted at Demir Dagh.
The DSTs conducted in the Lower Jurassic tested the Mus and Adayiah formations separately. While logging results of each formation indicated the presence of fractures, the results of both tests were inconclusive as the tests were unable to connect to a permeable fracture network and flow fluids to surface.
The data gathered from the well and field tests should be considered preliminary until such time as a pressure transient analysis or well-test interpretation has been carried out. Test results are not necessarily indicative of long-term performance or of ultimate recovery .
Appraisal Plans and Conceptual Development
Oryx Petroleum is conducting further analysis of the ZEG-1 well and intends to drill an appraisal well at Zey Gawra in 2014 as part of the multi-well appraisal and development drilling program in the Hawler license area. Depending upon the ultimate size of the Zey Gawra discovery, the field could be tied into the Corporation's planned development at Demir Dagh or developed on a standalone basis.
ABOUT ORYX PETROLEUM CORPORATION LIMITED
Oryx Petroleum is an international oil exploration company focused in Africa and the Middle East. The Corporation`s shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "OXC". The Oryx Petroleum group of companies was founded in 2010 by The Addax and Oryx Group Limited and key members of the former senior management team of Addax Petroleum Corporation. Oryx Petroleum has interests in six license areas, two of which have yielded oil discoveries and four of which are prospective for oil. The Corporation is the operator or technical partner in four of the six license areas. Two license areas are located in the Kurdistan Region and the Wasit governorate (province) of Iraq and four license areas are located in West Africa in Nigeria, the AGC administrative area offshore Senegal and Guinea Bissau, and Congo (Brazzaville).
SOURCE Oryx Petroleum Corporation Limited
