SDX has made a gas discovery in Morocco at the LNB-1 well on its Lalla Mimouna licence.
The well successfully drilled into two targets:
- Lafkerena (deeper)
- Upper Dlalha (shallower)
The Lafkerena target is significantly larger than previously encountered on the nearby Sebou licence. Management estimate unrisked mid-case volumes of 10.2bcf of gas and 55,000bbl of condensates.
Full press release below:
SDX Energy
Inc. the North Africa focused oil and gas company, is pleased to announce that
a conventional natural gas discovery has been made at its LNB-1 exploration
well on the Lalla Mimouna permit in Morocco (SDX 75 %).
The LNB-1
well was drilled to a total depth of 1861 meters. The primary target was in the
Lafkerena sequence, where 300 meters of gas bearing horizons were encountered
in a significantly over-pressured section. The mudlog obtained through the
section showed elevated gas readings of more than 20% with multiple sections
above 50%. This section could not be logged using conventional methods due to
hole conditions.
The gas
shows in this section contained heavier hydrocarbon components throughout,
which is indicative of a thermogenic hydrocarbon source rock. These types of
shows have not been seen to date in other parts of the basin and indicate that
a new petroleum system has been encountered in this area. Based on the mudlog
shows, reservoir quality information from the formation cuttings, analogue
fields (outside the Gharb basin), and the size of the feature as currently
mapped, a preliminary recoverable gas volume has been estimated by management.
This results in an un-risked mid-case volume of 10.2 Bscf of conventional
natural gas and 55 thousand barrels of condensate. This is significantly larger
than the traps typically encountered in Sebou and would exceed the size
required to justify development and connection to the existing infrastructure
in the Sebou area.
Additionally
in the secondary target, the Upper Dlalha, 2.6 meters of net conventional
natural gas pay sands were encountered with average porosity in the pay section
of 33%. This pay section is similar to the Guebbas targets, from which SDX
successfully produces on the Sebou permit.
The well is
now being completed as a conventional gas producer in the Upper Dlalha with the
deeper Lafkerena section being suspended until the appropriate equipment can be
mobilized, to test and produce from this over-pressured section. The timetable
to test this section has not been finalized and will be the subject of a future
update.
The drilling
rig will now move to the LMS-1 exploration well in the Lalla Mimouna Nord
permit, which will be the last well of the current drilling campaign.
Paul Welch, President and CEO of
SDX, commented:
“We are very excited about the
results of this exploration well. It was a higher risk exploration prospect than previous drilling in Sebou, as
it was a sequence that had not been previously penetrated in a similar structural location. We had
anticipated a higher-pressure section, based upon offset drilling in the area, but the actual pressures
encountered, the thickness of the section, and the type and amount of shows significantly exceeded our
expectations.”
“We are currently in the early
planning phases of determining how best to complete and test this
section. The estimated volume
potential is very encouraging and I look forward to updating the market further on our activities in due
course. Meanwhile, we have one more exploration well to drill on the permit in this campaign and I am
looking forward to some more positive results based upon our success in LNB-1.”
