Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ld
02 May 2007
BLOCK 129 - HEK-3 WELL TEST UPDATE
Gulf Keystone Petroleum Limited, an independent oil and gas exploration company
operating in the Republic of Algeria, in partnership with SONATRACH, today
issues the following update on the HEK-3 well in Block 129 (Djebel Bottena).
Well test operation and results
On 7th April 2007 Gulf Keystone commenced workover operations on well HEK-3, an
oil and gas discovery well drilled by SONATRACH in 2004. At that time, the well
was tested over the Cretaceous, Coniacian limestone interval and achieved, post
acidisation, flow of 184 barrels of oil over a 4 hour period, prior to the well
being suspended. Gulf Keystone re-entered the well and tested the same zone,
over the measured interval 2,439 to 2,446 metres, employing an acid fracturing
technique to improve connectivity between the reservoir and the wellbore. After
cleaning up the well, a stabilised flow rate of 1,040 barrels per day of 31
degrees API oil was achieved through a 32/64 inch choke. The well was flowed
through a separator for a total of 4.5 days and over 3,500 barrels of oil were
produced during this period. The crude contained little entrained gas and has an
estimated gas/oil ratio of 93 scf/bbl. The well is presently suspended with a
pressure gauge in the hole. This will be retrieved in 3-4 weeks to obtain the
pressure data.
A large amount of good quality engineering data was collected during the test
programme which, combined with the produced volume of oil and the long flow and
shut in periods, will provide valuable data for reservoir evaluation and field
development study purposes. Production optimisation studies will be carried out
to analyse options for further increasing well productivity with a view to the
possible early development of this discovery, subject to necessary consents. In
this regard, consideration will be given to pump and/or gas lift options to
further improve both the rate and delivery pressure of the well.
The information contained in this release has been reviewed and approved by Mr
Peter Dempsey (B,Sc, M.Sc), VP Engineering for Gulf Keystone, who has 24 years
experience as a petroleum / reservoir engineer in the oil industry.
Bill Guest, President of Gulf Keystone said:
"We are very pleased to have successfully re-entered well HEK-3 and achieved
what we believe to be a commercial rate of oil production. The successful use of
acid fracturing technology on this well, to optimise production performance from
this complex reservoir, provides us encouragement to consider a wider use of
this technology within the HEK area and also within our northern licence areas
(Ferkane and Ben Guecha blocks).
Equities in Block 129 are:
Gulf Keystone Petroleum LTD. 75% (Operator)
SONATRACH 25%
Enquiries
Gulf Keystone Petroleum +44 (0)20 7514 1400
Bill Guest
Todd Kozel
Jon Cooper
Citigate Dewe Rogerson: 020 7638 9571
Media enquiries: Martin Jackson
Analyst enquiries: Kate Delahunty / Nina Soon
or visit: www.gulfkeystone.com
Notes to editors:
Gulf Keystone was awarded Block 129 in April 2005 in the 6th International Bid
Round. Block 129 is operated by Gulf Keystone and covers an area of 4,369 km(2).
The block also contains two existing SONATRACH discoveries, the Djebel Onk oil
field (excluded from SONATRACH/Gulf Keystone association) and the Djebel Foua
gas discovery.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange