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Pantheon reaches MD at Alkaid #2; long term production test planned
Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
Pantheon Resources said Aug. 18 that it has reached a total measured depth of 14,300 feet at its Alkaid No. 2 well on the North Slope, including a lateral length of 5,300 feet, with a 5-1/2 inch liner run, set, cemented and tested for integrity.
Drilling began in early July at Alkaid 2, which is planned as the first production well for the company.
Pantheon said drilling operations using Nabors Rig 105 have concluded. That rig will be demobilized and a smaller completion rig moved in for perforating and stimulating the horizontal section, with perforations planned for approximately every 165 feet, requiring some 30 separate perforation and stimulation stages.
A long-term production test is planned after the completion work. That test will use a modular production kit which will separate oil, gas or water from the production stream. Oil will then be trucked to a nearby production unit for sale, the company said.
Conservative approach Pantheon said in its release that it plans lateral lengths of some 8,000 feet for future production wells but since this is the company’s first horizontal well on the North Slope it adopted a conservative approach and used a shorter lateral “to minimize operational risk and still deliver the production data needed to optimize development of the resource.”
Analysis of logging while drilling and gas chromatograph readings indicate that improved reservoir parameters found in the vertical pilot hole “have continued or improved in the horizontal well bore. This data further confirms the accuracy of Pantheon’s geological models and provides the Company with greater confidence to predict reservoir tops and bottoms,” Pantheon said. “As previously announced, initial analysis indicates significant improvements in reservoir quality which has the potential to lead to upgrades of the current reservoir estimates for all targeted horizons.”
First development well The company said in July that Alkaid 2 was planned to access three “impactful objectives” over multiple formations.
“The first development well in any new area can sometimes yield unexpected surprises as we never really know what wellbore conditions to expect over such a long distance, and hence I am delighted we reached 5,300 ft without incident, an important milestone for me because it exceeded my personal goal of one mile,” Bob Rosenthal, Pantheon’s technical director, said Aug. 18. “This latest operation appears to reinforce the accuracy of our geological modelling, giving me great confidence in our modelling of the other, even larger, projects in our 100% owned portfolio.”
Pantheon CEO Jay Cheatham said the company has “achieved another important milestone in demonstrating our ability to successfully drill a long lateral well.”
“Each milestone that Pantheon achieves translates into a reduction in risk and increased confidence in the potential of the large resource discovered to date,” he said.
Pantheon has 100% working interest in 153,000 acres on the North Slope. Its Alaska acreage is operated by affiliate Great Bear Pantheon, with two units, Alkaid and Talitha, adjacent to each other and to the trans Alaska oil pipeline.
- KRISTEN NELSON
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