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Winx well penetrates its targets; wireline logging to be done
Alan Bailey Petroleum News
Following a succession of releases giving a blow-by-blow account of the drilling of the Winx No. 1 exploration well on the North Slope to the east of the Colville River, on March 6 88 Energy Ltd. announced that the well had reached its total depth of 6,800 feet. During the course of the drilling the well penetrated target horizons in the Nanushuk and Torok formations. Oil shows were encountered in both formations. 88 Energy said that the plan now is to start wireline logging in the well, to test prospectivity ahead of possible production testing. The logging was expected to start on March 6.
Prospective region An Australian consortium of companies - 88 Energy Ltd.’s subsidiary Accumulate Energy Alaska Inc., Otto Energy and Red Emperor Resources - are drilling the well, with Great Bear Petroleum as the operator of record, although Accumulate is actually overseeing drilling.
Following major oil finds in the Nanushuk and Torok in recent years, these formations have become a focus of recent exploration. The Winx well is located close to the Pikka/Narwhal trend where some of the recent discoveries have been made. The well is situated about four miles east of the Horseshoe 1/1A exploration well, where Armstrong Energy discovered oil in the Nanushuk in 2017.
A March 1 release from 88 Energy indicated that the well had penetrated one “zone of interest” in the Nanushuk at depths between 4,460 and 4,530 feet. This zone exhibited weak to moderate oil shows but a potentially high water saturation. The findings appeared to represent the lower end of commerciality, but further analysis is being conducted to fully evaluate the situation. Also, the well penetrated rocks called turbidites in the shallower Seabee formation, but found no oil shows there, the release said.
Primary Nanushuk target A March 4 release said that drilling had continued through the primary Nanushuk target at depths between 4,667 and 4,901 feet, continuing down into the Torok. Penetration of the Nanushuk target resulted in elevated amounts of mud gas associated with oil shows. Data obtained from the drilling thus far is encouraging, especially since it appears comparable with data from “a nearby successful Nanushuk well,” the release says.
Red Emperor also expressed a tone of cautious optimism.
“These initial observations and interpretations, whilst encouraging, should be treated with some caution as additional data and analysis are required for further assessment and validation,” Red Emperor wrote in a March 4 release.
Torok target Red Emperor said that the well had encountered the Torok at a depth of 4,913 feet and had penetrated a secondary target in the Torok at a depth of 6,052 feet. That target consisted of “topset sequence 4 sandstones.”
Well penetration of the Torok target resulted in elevated levels of mud gas, associated with oil shows and an elevated resistivity response from logging while drilling.
The planned wireline logging program will evaluate the potential of the Torok target as well as the Nanushuk. Otto Energy said that the logging should take about 10 days to complete. Depending on the results of the logging, the partners in the drilling project will decide whether “to proceed to stimulate and test the most prospective of the Nanushuk primary targets,” the March 4 88 Energy release said.
- ALAN BAILEY
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