Houston's VAALCO Energy says it has achieved first oil from the North Tchibala 1-H well at a gross rate slightly above 3000 b/d.
The well was drilled to a measured depth of approximately 11,160 feet, targeting the undeveloped Dentale reservoir. The Dentale formation is productive in fields onshore Gabon, but this well represents the first Dentale production for the industry from that horizon in the offshore waters of Gabon.
The North Tchibala 1-H well was initially brought on production using an electrical submersible pump (ESP), but was subsequently allowed to produce naturally. The well is not producing any formation water or hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and has a strong flowing tubing pressure in excess of 1000psi. VAALCO plans to continue to produce the well without artificial lift while monitoring surface and downhole pressures.
This is the second well drilled and placed on production at VAALCO's new Southeast Etame/North Tchibala (SEENT) platform, in about 260ft water depth offshore Gabon.
VAALCO is the operator of the Etame Marin permit area and owns a 28.1% working interest and a 24.4% net revenue interest. The Transocean Constellation II jackup rig is mobilizing over to the Avouma/South Tchibala platform to conduct workover operations to replace ESPs on three existing development wells, two of which are off production.
Steve Guidry, VAALCO's Chairman and CEO commented: "I am pleased to announce that the results from the North Tchibala 1-H well exceeded our expectations. This industry milestone is particularly exciting as it is the first production from the North Tchibala field and the producing interval in this well is one of several within the Dentale formation known to be oil-bearing. We will monitor production and reservoir performance over the next few months while we complete our workover program at the Avouma/South Tchibala platform to determine the appropriate timing to drill a follow-up North Tchibala development well. We believe this field has significant reserve upside and results from this well over the coming months are important as this will allow us to better understand the potential of the newly-producing reservoir."
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