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Buccaneer spuds Kenai Loop No. 1
Buccaneer Alaska Operations LLC spud its Kenai Loop No. 1 well at 3 p.m. on April 15 using the Glacier Drilling Rig No. 1, the company announced on April 18.
The well, north of the Cannery Loop unit and the city of Kenai, is the first in Alaska for the local subsidiary of the Australian-independent Buccaneer Energy Ltd.
Buccaneer said drilling had reached the point designated for surface casing at 3,075 feet and preparations were under way to log the surface interval. Buccaneer intends to drill the well to a total depth of 10,500 feet to reach multiple targets, starting with a potential zone in the Beluga formation. The company expects drilling to last for another 20 days.
Multiple pay zones possible Buccaneer began collecting the leases in the prospect in mid 2010 and now holds some 7,734 acres of state, Cook Inlet Region Inc. and Alaska Mental Health Land Trust leases.
Based on control wells, 200 miles of 2-D seismic and surrounding geology, Buccaneer believes the field holds “multiple stacked pay zone possibilities between 5,000 and 10,000 feet,” estimating reserves between 35 billion and 78 billion cubic feet and initial production rates between 5 million and 10 million cubic feet per day per well.
Kenai Loop No. 1 is the second exploration well in the Cook Inlet basin this year. Local independent NordAq Energy Inc. drilled the onshore Shadura No. 1 in mid-February.
Buccaneer drilled the well just slightly more than one year after arriving in Alaska.
—Eric Lidji
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