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Savant nears end of 1st Badami well; expects to finish in April
Savant Alaska hopes to finish its first well at the Badami unit by the end of April.
The local subsidiary of Denver independent Savant Resources is drilling the B 1-38 exploration well at the North Slope unit, Greg Vigil, executive vice president and chief executive officer, told members of the Alaska Support Industry Alliance on April 9.
The well, named after a slot at the existing gravel pad at Badami, is also known as Red Wolf, the name of the prospect Savant is exploring on behalf of unit operator BP.
Red Wolf is targeting the Middle Ellesmerian Kekiktuk formation, a deeper and older geologic formation than the Brookian formation where previous development occurred.
Prior to this season, BP placed Badami in “warm shutdown” because of low production rates at the eastern North Slope field. The decision late last year to farm out the unit to Savant was a way to not only increase production, but also expand to new prospects.
The ultimate goal of the program is to try to restart the existing Badami facility.
Another pool could be developed Vigil said if drilling is successful this winter then Savant could accelerate development of the Badami unit by developing another oil pool alongside the Brookian formation.
“If we have success, you’d see a faster pace of development,” Vigil said.
If the well turns out to be unsuccessful, though, Savant would have to attempt to re-start Badami production using primarily the oil prospects in the Brookian formation. “We need to prove up some technologies before we could really commit to do that,” Vigil said.
Savant is drilling the Red Wolf prospect using Doyon Rig 16.
Vigil said Savant faced some delays earlier this season caused by winter storms, an unexpectedly large number of polar bear dens in the area and mechanical problems.
To meet regulations designed to prevent drilling during the “breakup” season when ice begins to melt on the North Slope, Vigil said Savant must finish operations by April 27.
Vigil said it was “possible” but not “optimal” to leave the rig at the Badami facilities during the offseason because the rig isn’t large enough for full development drilling.
Following work this winter, Savant plans to demobilize Doyon Rig 16 back to Deadhorse before the ice road melts. The company will then evaluate the results from the B 1-38 well and start planning a winter 2010 program to redevelop the Brookian formation.
Vigil said the existing dock and facilities at Badami would allow for some summer work.
—Eric Lidji
See April 19 issue for more extensive coverage of the Savant program.
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