Elias Biryabarema
4 September 2008
Kampala — The Kingfisher-2, the latest petroleum exploration well to be flow tested has offered the largest yield to date, surpassing all the previous wells where oil has been struck.
Heritage Oil Corp yesterday announced that the well, found in Block 3A on Lake Albert shores in Buhuka Area, Hoima district, had produced 14,364 barrels of oil per day, becoming the most productive well in the Lake Albert basin so far.
The new discovery at Kingfisher-2 now brings Uganda's exploratory daily production capacity to an estimated 50,000 barrels of oil per day.
According to the company, the flow rates recorded for all the three interval zones of the well exceeded expectations even as the test was apparently disrupted by surface test equipment.
"It appears that these three zones are equivalent to the same three intervals tested in the Kingfisher-1 well, which flowed at a combined rate of 9,773 bopd," said the statement.
According to the company, the two lowermost sand zones "are possibly in vertical communication and therefore could comprise the same reservoir.
This could potentially lead to higher oil volumes."
Heritage described Kingfisher-2's oil as good quality, with light to medium gravity and sweet, with a low gas-oil ratio and some associated wax.
Following the surprisingly higher flow rate, Heritage said it now expects the reservoir volumes of Kingfisher well to be higher and that it would proceed to reappraise their estimates after full scrutiny of the data.
Prior to the drilling of Kingfisher-2, the well had been evaluated by RPS Energy and estimated to contain about 118 million barrels.
"The cumulative flow rate of 14,364 bopd from the Kingfisher-2 well has surpassed our expectations, indicating the outstanding potential of the Kingfisher discovery. This is the third well in the Albert Basin to produce over 12,000 bopd under test and the second in Block 3A," commented Tony Buckingham, Heritage's CEO.
He said Heritage would embark on its "busiest and most exciting drilling schedule in Uganda," with a total of four wells planned to be drilled in Block 3A and Block 1 during the remainder of the year. The recent back to back discoveries, he suggested, were fast pushing Heritage toward the commercial threshold for the development of their reserves in Uganda.
The Petroleum Exploration and Production Department Commissioner, Mr Reuben Kashambuzi described the discovery as "high impact" and that the well's potential could be significantly far greater if proper test equipment is used in flow testing.
The Nabors 221 rig, used in drilling Kingfisher-2, will now be moved three kilometers south of Kingfisher-2, along the Lake Albert shoreline, to drill the Kingfisher-3 appraisal well, supposed to evaluate the potential of the southern portion of this field. Block 3A is operated by Heritage but is owned, on equal shareholding, with Tullow Oil.
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