Forest Oil pleased with results of third Redoubt unit well

No. 3 logged 436 feet of net oil pay, a natural gas zone was encounterd

Kristen Nelson

PNA Editor-in-Chief

Forest Oil Corp. announced Oct. 26 the successful drilling and logging of a third well, Redoubt Unit No. 3, at the company's Redoubt development in Cook Inlet.

Forest said the Redoubt No. 3 was drilled to extend the field and define the downdip limits of the reservoir in the south fault block discovered by the No. 2 well.

The No. 3 was drilled to a total depth of 16,940 feet and logged approximately 436 feet of net oil pay. The company said drilling extended the reservoir's downdip limit by approximately 300 feet without encountering the oil-water contact at total depth. Since logs indicated reservoir quality similar to the No. 2 well, the No. 3 was not production tested for oil.

Forest said it believes the No. 3 well will produce at rates similar to the No. 2.

Results from the Redoubt Unit No. 2 well were announced in June.

The No. 2 was drilled to a total depth of 15,325 feet, logged approximately 452 feet of net pay and tested at a stabilized flow rate of 1,170 barrels of oil per day from two intervals in the Hemlock formation. Forest estimated that production rate for the well, using artificial lift, will be 3,000 bopd.

Forest said that the No. 3 well also encountered a natural gas zone. Logs indicated approximately 40 net feet of gas pay, which was tested at 8.5 million cubic feet a day. The company said it is examining the implications of this natural gas discovery, but believes that, at a minimum, the natural gas will reduce field level fuel costs associated with oil production.

Forest expects to spud the No. 4 well within the next 30 days. That well will be an attempt to delineate the eastern boundary of the north fault block previously discovered by the No. 1 well. Full field development of Redoubt Shoal is under way, Forest said, with first production estimated to occur prior to 2003.

In recent presentations to analysts, Forest said it is estimating 450 million barrels of original oil in place at the Redoubt Shoal unit. At a 25 percent recovery rate, Forest said, that would be 113 million barrels of oil.