Predator rigless testing shows damaged formation

Predator Oil & Gas Holdings plc reported damaged formation from phase I rigless testing on the Guercif licence, onshore Morocco.

DRILLING MUDS

Beginning on 10 February, the company perforated all four zones in wells MOU-1 and MOU-3 to complete on 19 February, with the crews and equipment now demobilised.

Predator used conventional 111/16″ perforating guns, “likely to be undersized”, which it said were the only option available at the time.

For all four zones tested, the perforating guns failed to penetrate beyond the zone of formation damage.

Predator added that testing was designed to confirm potential formation damage caused by heavy drilling muds used while drilling and to estimate the minimum depth of penetration of drilling mud into the potential reservoir formations.

The information will be used to design the phase II sandjet programme and to evaluate additional potential reservoir intervals where conventional wireline logs were potentially affected by deep invasion of drilling mud into the intervals.

SANDJET

Analysis of seven gas samples collected in isotubes in MOU-3 while drilling at measured depths of 446, 508, 555, 750, 817, 846 and 1,395 metres show composition in the range 98.04 to 99.57% methane, making it “ideal for a compressed natural gas development with minimum processing”.

Predator said that isotope analysis indicated the gas was biogenic in origin.

Sandjet testing aims to penetrate sufficiently beyond the formation damage and to perforate the multiple potential reservoir zones.

Sandjet will also be used to perforate multiple zones in wells MOU-1, MOU-3 and MOU-4 for rigless testing.

Predator continues to plan for drilling the MOU-5 well to test a large Jurassic structure updip from MOU-4.

Executive chairman Paul Griffiths added: “We are very confident that we can design the sandjet testing parameters to extend beyond the zone of formation damage.

“Resources estimates remain unchanged and there are no changes to available discretionary working capital to carry out the sandjet testing programme.

“We are however fully aware that we need to flow gas from our main zones in the most effective manner after accounting for formation damage, and we have confidence in sandjet achieving that objective.”