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Buccaneer to spud West Eagle in August
Buccaneer Energy Ltd. plans to explore its West Eagle prospect this summer.
A local subsidiary of the Australian independent plans to drill the West Eagle No. 1 in the coming weeks under a plan of operations approved by the state Division of Oil and Gas.
The onshore prospect is in the southern Kenai Peninsula, northeast of Homer.
West Eagle No. 1 will target an interval in the Upper Tyonek formation where the Standard Oil Company of California encountered gas in the down dip offset Anchor River No. 1 well in 1961. West Eagle No. 1 is testing an anomaly Buccaneer found on a reprocessed 2-D seismic survey conducted over 233 square miles of the area in 1981.
Buccaneer also plans to use the well to test what it is calling the East Side Oil Play, a “deeper, large stratigraphic pinch out,” which is “made up of basal Tertiary or older potential reservoirs up-dip from a postulated middle Jurassic oil source conduit system.”
Buccaneer plans to drill the well using its contracted Glacier No. 1 rig, which must first complete drilling operations at the Kenai Loop No. 1-4 well near the city of Kenai.
Exploration approved in February Buccaneer expects to spud West Eagle No. 1 by late August and either test or plug and abandon the well by the beginning of October. Under a plan of exploration approved in February, Buccaneer agreed to post two $600,000 bonds to backstop its work commitments at West Eagle. The state will return the first bond if Buccaneer spuds West Eagle No. 1 by Sept. 1 and would return both bonds if the company drills and tests, or drills and plugs and abandons any well into the Tyonek formation by the same date.
The plan of exploration also proposes future drilling and seismic at the unit.
Under a letter of intent announced in early July, an unnamed partner has the option to pay for the entire cost of two West Eagle wells in return for a 49 percent working interest.
The parties have yet to close on the deal.
In recent permitting documents for West Eagle No. 1, Buccaneer said it is currently permitting its Kenai Loop No. 3 (also known as Kenai Loop No. 1-2) dry hole as a Class II disposal well, and, if successful, would use the well for operations at both fields.
—Eric Lidji
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