Kenai Loop wells tests at 3 mmcf per day

A natural gas well Buccaneer Energy Ltd. drilled at its Kenai Loop field toward the end of 2012 has tested at a rate of 3 million cubic feet per day, according to the company.

The onshore Kenai Loop No. 4 well flowed uninterrupted for a 24-hour period ending on Jan. 13, when the company shut in the well to build up pressure for a second test. The four-point test is designed to “establish the absolute open hole flow potential of the well,” by measuring flow rates and pressure at four choke sizes for several hours at a time.

The first test used a 12/64-inch choke. For the test, Buccaneer perforated a 10-foot section of an interval at a measured depth of 10,300 feet, which correlates to an interval at 9,700 feet in the Kenai Loop No. 1 well.

The Kenai Loop field went into production in early 2012 and is now producing some 6.5 million cubic feet per day into the local market through at least three contracts. In mid-2011, during exploration, Buccaneer tested two zones totaling 87 feet of gross pay in the Kenai Loop No. 1 well, reporting an initial flow rate of 10 million cubic feet per day.

—Eric Lidji