MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Falklands Desire plans drilling a second vertical well at the Rachel prospect

Chairman Phipps encouraged by the available data

Falklands’ Desire Petroleum announced that its sidetrack well in the Rachel prospect was exposed to a mechanical failure and therefore it will not be possible to obtain any wire-line logging data.

However the AIM listed company is encouraged by data acquired during drilling operations both at the main bore and sidetrack, and will attempt drilling a vertical well to further evaluate the potential of the Rachel prospect.

“Data acquired during drilling operations (from logging while drilling tools and geological data from cuttings) indicates that around 25 metres of sand with oil shows was encountered” but in the absence of wire-line logging data “it is not possible to fully assess the significance of these results and, in particular, reservoir properties and the hydrocarbon saturations associated with these sands cannot be confirmed”.

Therefore the current well 14/15-1Z will be plugged and abandoned prior to moving the drilling rig to a new location on the Rachel prospect.

Desire points out that undertaking the logging program in a vertical well should avoid the geo-mechanical problems encountered in the sidetrack “which were shown to be a consequence of drilling a deviated well-bore in an area where very little regional stress data is currently available”.

“It is disappointing that we have been unable to collect all the data that would have enabled us to fully evaluate the Rachel sidetrack well. However the data that we have been able to gather has given us sufficient encouragement to drill another well on the Rachel prospect.

Following the Sea Lion oil discovery by Rockhopper Exploration, this is the second well to indicate the presence of hydrocarbons in what is now termed the east flank play fairway and gives us encouragement that further oil fields will be discovered in this area”, said Stephen Phipps, Desire chairman.

However the proposed move to another location on the Rachel prospect is subject to obtaining all necessary regulatory and partner approvals in a short time frame.

Desire anticipated that in the event these approvals are not rapidly forthcoming, the rig will instead move to drill the Dawn/Jacinta prospect and return to Rachel later in the drilling program.