Morocco Wildcat Falls Flat as Predator’s MOU-6 Well Fails to Flow Gas and Is Suspended
Predator Oil & Gas has reported a disappointing early result from its MOU-6 well onshore Morocco: the target formation did not flow gas during preliminary testing, and the well has been suspended.
The Jersey-based company, which has producing operations and exploration activity in Trinidad and Morocco, said the well was perforated under-balanced over 19.8 metres of the upper interval of the TGB-6 Fan, from 825.7 to 845.5 metres. A logging tool recorded a formation pressure of 1,195 psi at 813.27 metres, though the reading had not fully stabilised. Nitrogen lift recovered only diesel and brine from the completion fluid.
Predator listed several possible reasons for the lack of inflow. Extremely low permeability of the rock, or mechanical blockage if the perforation tunnels collapsed in relatively unconsolidated formations, are both possible. Severe formation damage is unlikely. A combination of low permeability and low gas saturation is considered more likely. The final processed NuTech logs show far lower computed permeability, gas saturation and porosity than in the earlier MOU-1, MOU-3 and MOU-4 wells, and the company says they correlate very closely with the observed well performance. Shallow gas shows of up to 2.69% were sampled for analysis.
MOU-6 has been suspended to allow for possible deepening to the TGB-4 interval. It satisfied the remaining work programme commitment for the first extension period of the Petroleum Agreement. The six wells drilled so far in what was an undrilled frontier area have established several new prospective plays, mainly in the Tertiary, and the presence of salt has been confirmed. The Jurassic and Triassic remain to be evaluated.
Further work will focus on assessing possible unconventional gas through well interventions, costing a programme to deepen the MOU-5 well to the Triassic to test for thermogenic gas and associated helium, and assessing the Jurassic potential for gas and possibly oil in the west of the licence. Predator wants to align with a partner able to take exploration forward.
“We are naturally disappointed that MOU-6 has not delivered in line with pre-drill expectations,” said Chief Executive Paul Griffiths. “However, the first successful perforation of the target formation and the well data collected is invaluable in terms of helping to calibrate the potential for gas interpreted by NuTech log analysis in MOU-1, MOU-3 and MOU-4.” He said emphasis will now fall on partner negotiations, while the operating team moves to Trinidad to prepare for the Snowcap-3 well. The first of two instalments of deferred consideration for the 2025 acquisition of the former Challenger Energy Group’s Trinidad business and assets has been completed.
Source: energy-pedia.com
