PetroNeft Resources Plc, the owner and operator of Licences 61 and 67, Tomsk Oblast, Russian Federation, is pleased to announce the discovery of another new oil field in Licence 61 at North Varyakhskaya.
PetroNeft said its North Varyakhskaya 1 well had struck oil there in its main target location
The company says the well encountered 2.2 metres of net oil pay, plus a further 2.5 metres of ‘potential net pay’ that requires further testing. An un-stimulated open hole inflow test produced 36 barrels of fluid per day, which contained good quality oil with 36 degree API.
PetroNeft said that the well will require fracture stimulation before it can become economic.
“We are very pleased to announce a new discovery at North Varyakhskaya,” said chief executive Dennis Francis.
“The field, while small in comparison to Sibkrayevskaya (a previous discovery announced in August), is important because it can be easily tied into already planned infrastructure at minimal cost and will also qualify for a reduced Mineral Extraction Tax.”
North Varyakhskaya is positioned along the route of the Lineynoye to Arbuzovskoye pipeline, construction is planned for the first quarter of next year, and as such the field will have a lower development cost.
Meanwhile at the Lineynoye oil field, which is also on the Licence 61 acreage, PetroNeft has drilled two successful development wells that have extended the boundaries of the oil field.
PetroNeft said that the Cheremshanskaya well is currently coring in the uppermost target horizon and hydrocarbon shows have been encountered. The well’s drilling and testing programme will take up to two months to complete drilling.
“The two well exploration programme now underway at Licence 67 is based on re-interpreted data from old wells, similar to our recent significant Sibkrayevskaya discovery,” Francis added. “We look forward to updating shareholders on the results of these wells as activities progress.”
