Following their receipt of integrated results for the Kawa-1 well, Canadian joint venture partners, CGX Energy Inc. and Frontera Energy Corporation announced on Monday that the “finder well” successfully unlocked light oil and gas condensate at the Corentyne Block.
Gabriel de Alba, Chairman of Frontera’s Board of Directors and Co-Chairman of CGX’s Board of Directors recalled that the Kawa-1 well was drilled in water depth of approximately 355 metres (1,174 ft) to a total depth of 21,578 feet (6,577 metres) in the northern portion of the Corentyne block.
He said in the partners’ official release that they are pleased to announce that Kawa-1 successfully discovered light oil in the Santonian and Coniacian and gas condensate in the Maastrichtian and Campanian plays.
He said, “The Kawa-1 discovery adds to the growing success story unfolding offshore Guyana and the integrated Kawa-1 well results further support our belief in the potentially transformational opportunity the Joint Venture has in one of the most exciting basins in the world.”
Additionally, the joint venture partners disclosed that they encountered hydrocarbons in multiple zones extending from 15,216 feet (4,638 metres) in the Maastrichtian to 21,547 feet (6,568 metres) in the Coniacian. Essentially, the partners said every sand encountered over this interval indicated the presence of hydrocarbons.
They said too that a total of 228 feet (69 metres) of net pay was found distributed throughout the Maastrichtian (68 feet/21 metres), Campanian (66 feet/20 metres), Santonian (76 feet/23 metres) and Coniacian (18 feet/5 metres) horizons with individual pay zones up to 35 feet (11 metres) thick.
Following completion of drilling activities at the Kawa-1 exploration well, CGX and Frontera said they engaged independent third-party laboratories and experts to complete detailed studies, refined mapping and analyses to provide opinions on reservoir quality and hydrocarbon type. OilNOW understands that this integrated analysis provided further support for the joint venture’s initial interpretations that the Kawa-1 exploration well successfully discovered light oil in the Santonian and Coniacian and gas condensate in the Maastrichtian and Campanian as supported by cuttings, mud gas and annulus fluid analysis.
They said these findings are consistent with discovery wells reported by other operators surrounding the northern portion of the Corentyne block and de-risks the forthcoming Wei-1 exploration well, expected to be spud in the third quarter of 2022.
With respect to Wei-1, CGX and Frontera said they continue to integrate detailed seismic and lithological analysis and pore pressure studies from the Kawa-1 well into preparations in advance of drilling which is subject to rig release from a third-party operator.
The Wei-1 exploration well will be located approximately 14 kilometres northwest of the Kawa-1 exploration well in the Corentyne block, approximately 200 kilometres offshore from Georgetown, Guyana. It will be drilled in water depth of approximately 1,912 feet (583 metres) to a targeted total depth of 20,500 (6,248 metres) and will target Campanian and Santonian aged stacked channels in a western channel complex in the northern section of the Corentyne block.
The partners said that data gained at Kawa-1 has improved the chance of success at Wei-1 from 29% to 56%. They added that information from the Kawa-1 and Wei-1 exploration wells, will inform future activities and potential development decisions.
Based on the Kawa-1 discovery and a better understanding of the tie between seismic and rock type in the northern portion of the Corentyne block, the Joint Venture partners have identified additional Maastrichtian, Campanian, and Santonian potential in the central channel complexes between Wei-1 and Kawa-1. The central channel complexes are the focus of ongoing technical work.
In the meantime, CGX said it continues to assess several strategic opportunities to obtain additional financing to meet the costs of the drilling programme.
