Kenai Loop well tests at 5.9 mmcf

A Buccaneer Energy Ltd. well at the Kenai Loop field flowed at a rate of 5.9 million cubic feet per day in an initial four-point test, the company announced Oct. 8.

A local subsidiary of the Australian independent tested an interval at 9,700 feet at the onshore Kenai Loop No. 1-4 well, drilled to test a fault between two prior wells.

A four-point test measures flow rates at different choke sizes for short periods of time.

Buccaneer had previously said it was aiming to bring Kenai Loop No. 1-4 online at 3 million to 5 million cubic feet per day by the end of the year. The gas field just north and northeast of the city of Kenai currently produces some 10 million cubic feet per day.

The testing had been delayed by a debate over correlative rights. Now, Buccaneer is “assessing if additional prospective zones intersected while drilling will also be tested.”

Buccaneer drilled the well using the Glacier No. 1 rig, which is now scheduled to begin work at the West Eagle unit in the southern Kenai Peninsula northeast of Homer. The unit is currently in default because Buccaneer failed to drill by a September deadline, in part because of delays related to its oil spill contingency plan, according to the company.

Now, Buccaneer must spud the West Eagle No. 1 well by Dec. 1

—Eric Lidji