(Energy Analytics Institute, Ian Silverman, 12.Jun.2018) – Canada’s Frontera Energy Corporation continues its active drilling program in Colombia.
The company had six (6) drilling rigs operating continuously in the first two months of the second quarter of 2018, of which three (3) were active in the Quifa heavy oil area, two (2) on the light oil-focused Guatiquia block, and one (1) drilling the high impact Acorazado-1 well in the Llanos 25 block, the company announced in an official statement.
Guatiquia block
Frontera commenced drilling the Alligator-3 development well on the Guatiquia block on May 10, 2018. On April 27, 2018, the well reached a total depth of 12,416 feet (12,189 feet TVD), encountering 31.5 feet of net pay in the Lower Sand-1A formation. The well was completed in the Lower Sand-1A formation with an electrical submersible pump.
The Lower Sand-1A formation has been flow tested for approximately 13 days at an average rate of 1,800 barrels per day (b/d) of 18.2 degree API oil with an average water cut of 40% at stabilized bottomhole flowing pressure with an approximate 34% drawdown. The well has produced a total of 27,500 barrels of oil since start of production.
At the Guatiquia block, Frontera continues to have exploration success. During the quarter, the company completed testing the Coralillo-1 well in two zones. On May 10, 2018, the company reported the Lower Sand-1A formation was flow tested for approximately 11 days at an average rate of 1,050 b/d of 15.3 degree API oil with an average water cut of 1% at stabilized bottomhole flowing pressure with a 60% drawdown. Subsequently, the well was shut-in for a 5-day pressure buildup test. Results confirmed positive reservoir properties, low formation damage and no depletion during the testing period.
Additionally, on May 18, 2018, the company began testing the well in the Guadalupe formation. In this formation, the well was initially flow tested for 10 days at an average rate of 800 b/d of 17.1 degree API oil with an average water cut of 1.1% at stabilized bottomhole flowing pressure with an approximate 38% drawdown. Since discovery, the Guadalupe formation has produced a total of 8,140 barrels of oil. Following the initial production test in the Guadalupe formation, the well was shut-in for a pressure buildup test. Given the positive results, on May 22, 2018, the company requested permission from the Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarburos (ANH by its Spanish acronym) to conduct long term testing for the well.
Quifa block
Frontera has drilled nine (9) horizontal oil development wells to date at the Quifa block during the second quarter of 2018. In addition, the company commenced construction of facilities to expand its water handling capabilities on the block, which is expected to be operational during the fourth quarter of 2018. The company plans to boost the number of active drilling rigs in the Quifa area from three (3) to five (5) in mid-June. As the company adds water handling capacity during the third quarter it expects the number of active drilling rigs to increase to six (6).
***