Gulf Keystone Petroleum (LON:GKP), the oil group with operations in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, has released details from drilling work on the Ber Bahr-1 exploration well on the Ber Bahr block, which spudded last October.
Genel Energy, the well operator, has now completed drilling and initial testing of the well, which was drilled to 3993m in the Chia Zairi formation. It encountered a 300m oil column in the Jurassic with matrix porosity of 17%. Two drill stem tests over the interval failed to flow and yielded inconclusive results, with evidence of perforations plugged with heavy oil.
The well has been temporarily suspended whilst a work over rig is moved to the location to conduct an extended well test. Genel has also stated that further evaluation of the significant oil column will be required to determine whether the discovery is commercially viable.
Gulf Keystone has a 40 percent working interest in the Ber Bahr block, with Genel Energy holding 40 percent and the Kurdistan Regional Government holding a 20 percent carried interest. Genel’s resource estimate for the Ber Bahr block is 1.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent-initially-in-place.
John Gerstenlauer, Gulf Keystone’s chief operating officer, said: “We look forward to the operator’s update on further evaluation of the significant 300m oil column encountered by the Ber Bahr-1 exploration well. Meanwhile our high impact 2012/2013 drilling programme in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, targeting 5 exploration and 7 appraisal wells across the Shaikan, Sheikh Adi and Akri-Bijeel blocks, is in progress. We continue to work hard to prove up the impressive resource estimates for these three blocks, which add up to at least 16 billion barrels of gross mean oil-in-place.”
