Bahamas Petroleum Company (BPC) said Thursday it will be drilling an exploration well in April with results expected in the second quarter of the year. The well – Perseverance #1 – is located on the northern segment of the B structure offshore The Bahamas, the company said in an operations update.
BPC said it will be targeting recoverable prospective resources of 0.77 billion barrels of oil, with an upside of 1.44 billion barrels, solely for the northern structural closure portion of the B structure.
“In total the B structure extends for between 70 and 80 kms, has a mapped areal closure over 400 km2 and has an aggregate most likely recoverable resource potential in excess of 2.0 billion barrels.” BPC said.
The company said it has established a temporary field office in Houston, Texas USA, supplementing its existing permanent offices in Nassau (The Bahamas) and the Isle of Man. The field office has been staffed to manage and support drilling and well operations and includes personnel with a breadth of global expertise and experience in well design and engineering, offshore drilling (including the use of Managed Pressure Drilling systems), logistics and planning.
Major well services contractor Halliburton has integrated staff into the company’s drilling execution team, BPC said.
“Perseverance #1 has the potential to open a world class, new frontier basin offshore Bahamas, less than 200 miles from the world’s largest hydrocarbon market/infrastructure. In our view this makes Perseverance one of the premier prospects that could be drilled globally this year with the potential to not only fundamentally alter the status of BPC in the market, but to also transform the revenue generating capacity of the Bahamian economy,” Simon Potter, Chief Executive Officer of BPC, said.
Over the past months, the Company has been working to finalise the process of rig selection and contracting with Seadrill, and to advance contracting for other services (including the master services agreement with Halliburton for integrated downhole services) and various other equipment required for the drilling campaign.
Perseverance #1 is located in water approximately 518 metres deep, with a target depth of 4,822 metres, but with a capability to be able to reach 5,600 metres, thereby affording the ability to evaluate multiple reservoir horizons throughout the entire stratigraphic column below the Tertiary cover. The ultimate decision on well depth will depend on real-time drilling results and geological information.
The company’s announcement follows a flurry of exploration activity in the region with mega oil discoveries being racked up offshore Guyana where US oil major ExxonMobil has to date found more than 8 billion barrels of oil equivalent resources. Just weeks ago, Suriname also made its first ever deepwater discovery which analysts say is significant and will be commercialised.
