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  4. Pantheon Resources spuds Theta West well in Alaska

Pantheon Resources spuds Theta West well in Alaska

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Oilfield Technology,

Pantheon Resources has announced that following the completion of its work preparing the Talitha #A well for testing, the Nordic Calista #3 rig mobilised c. 8.5 miles to the Theta West location where it spudded the Theta West #1 well at approximately 10 pm GMT on 21 January. As of 10 pm GMT last night (23 January) the company was drilling ahead at a depth of 1874 ft.

Theta West #1 is targeting two primary targets; (i) the Upper Basin Floor Fan, and (ii) the Lower Basin Floor Fan. Combined, these horizons are estimated by the company to contain 12.1 billion barrels of oil in place with an estimated 1.4 billion barrels of recoverable resource. The top of the formation is estimated at a depth of about 7600 ft with an estimated 1300 ft reservoir thickness. The forward plan is to drill to target depth, estimated at c. 9200 ft, case the hole, and begin testing operations on both the Lower Basin Floor Fan and Upper Basin Floor Fan.

Prior to relocating to the Theta West #1 location, the Nordic Calista #3 rig completed preparations for testing operations at the Talitha #A well which included a plugging operation on the Kuparuk Zone. The Kuparuk will form the focus of a future well. A Schlumberger fracking unit and the XPRO flow back testing equipment are mobilised and on location. Testing operations commenced over the weekend and will start from the lowest formation, the Lower Basin Floor Fan, before proceeding sequentially to the two shallower Slope Fans (which will be tested together) and the Shelf Margin Deltaic horizons. A Coiled Tubing Unit used for flow testing operations will mobilize to location after the completion of the frack job.

Talitha #A was drilled in 2021 and encountered five independent oil horizons, all confirmed as being oil bearing; (i) the Shelf Margin Deltaic, (ii) the Slope Fan System, (iii) the Upper Basin Floor Fan, (iv) the Lower Basin Floor Fan, and (v) the Kuparuk. Independent 'Volatiles Analysis' undertaken by the experts at Advanced Hydrocarbon Stratigraphy / Baker Hughes took 416 cuttings during drilling of the well over a 3700 ft section spanning these five horizons, with every sample confirming the presence of oil.

Jay Cheatham, CEO of Pantheon Resources, said: "The spudding of the Theta West #1 well marks another important day for Pantheon shareholders. As happened last year, our contractors have built the ice roads and drilling pads safely and on schedule. This has enabled us to have our equipment on both locations by mid-January, maximizing our time to complete our planned two well winter campaign.

"A first for Pantheon is the simultaneous operations at both Theta West and Talitha #A. Following these wells, we intend to drill the Alkaid 2 well in Spring/Summer 2022 which, if successful, can commence production soon thereafter. These wells test very large targets and have the potential to be very material for all shareholders, if successful."


Read the latest issue of Oilfield Technology in full for free: Issue 4 2021

The issue starts with a report from Rystad Energy focusing on the outlook for the upstream industry in the Middle East. The rest of the issue is dedicated to features covering production optimisation, drill bits, pipeline integrity, health and safety, and more.

Exclusive contributions come from Varel Energy Solutions, Rystad Energy, Gyrodata, 3X Engineering, Tracerco, Ulterra Drilling Technologies and more.

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/drilling-and-production/24012022/pantheon-resources-spuds-theta-west-well-in-alaska/

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