Buccaneer gets rig for second well

Fresh off signing its first natural gas supply contract in Alaska, Buccaneer Energy Ltd. is planning its second onshore well in the state, the company announced on Aug. 18.

The Australian independent said it contracted with Marathon Oil Co. to use the Glacier No. 1 drilling rig to drill the Kenai Loop No. 2 well near the city of Kenai.

Buccaneer previously used the rig to drill the Kenai Loop No. 1 well in May.

The company said Kenai Loop No. 2 would be a development well drilled directionally from the existing drilling pad with a bottom hole location 1,800 feet from Kenai Loop No. 1.

Kenai Loop No. 1 tested zones at 9,700 feet and 10,000 feet and Buccaneer said Kenai Loop No. 2 would test the aerial extent of those two zones, flow test additional zones that the company was not previously able to test and eventually become a producing well.

Buccaneer expects to spud in late August or early September and said drilling should last 30 days to reach a target depth of 11,000, with an additional 14 days of testing.

—Eric Lidji