MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Geopark drills and tests new oil well in Chile’s Magallanes region

CEO James F. Park most pleased with the Guanaco oil field

Oil and gas explorer Geopark Holdings Ltd (GPK.L) announced on Tuesday it successfully drilled and tested a new well in the Magallanes Region, extreme south of Chile where it has been operating for several years.

Geopark which also has operations in Argentina said it drilled the Guanaco 6 well of the Fell Block to a depth of 2,760 metres and a production test flowed at about 1,578 barrels per day (bpd).

Geopark also said the produced crude oil is now being marketed. Projected production rate for the well is 600-800 bpd.

“The drilling results from this well and preliminary interpretations of available seismic data provide evidence that the Guanaco structure is approximately 6 square kilometres in area with a preliminary 2P reserve estimate (internal) of approximately 6-7 million barrels of oil, approximately 3-4 million barrels higher than previous estimates, and with the possibility of multiple drilling opportunities” said Geopark in an official release.

The company, which had successfully drilled and tested a separate well on the Fell Block in September, has a 100 percent working interest in the block.

Commenting, James F. Park, Chief Executive Officer of GeoPark, said: “We are pleased with the results from the Guanaco well which confirms the Guanaco oil field as an attractive new development opportunity and further opens the Fell Block’s south-central area to additional exploration possibilities. GeoPark remains committed to investing in our effort to find and develop oil and gas reserves in the Magallanes Basin in Southern Chile”.

Geopark's shares, which have more than doubled over the past year as the explorer announced a string of drilling successes, were up 4.4% at 780 pence on the London Stock Exchange.