Alaska-focused oil explorer 88 Energy Limited is poised to spud the Merlin-2 well at its wholly owned Peregrine oil project in Alaska in the week commencing 7 March. The company reports all operations are on track and the mobilisation of the drilling rig to site is complete. The Merlin-2 well is permitted to a total depth of just over 2.4 kilometres and is targeting a prospective resource of 652 million barrels of oil as assessed by an independent consultant to the company.
Managing Director and CEO, Ashley Gilbert, said success at Merlin-2 has the clear potential to be “transformational for our shareholders.”
Management noted the Artic Fox drilling rig was on site and pre-spud operations were continuing as it entered the final phase at the Merlin-2 appraisal well. Spudding involves the process of beginning to drill an oil well with a larger drill bit initially used to clear a surface hole.
Merlin-2 will initially be drilled to approximately 600 metres, followed by installation of surface casing and testing of the blow-out preventer system. This stage is projected by the company to take about one week. Drilling to the total depth of 2.4km is anticipated to take a further four weeks including wireline logging.
A production test programme has been designed for the Merlin-2 well with equipment placed on standby at the well site. The company said flow testing of Merlin-2 is contingent upon the wireline results, especially MDT results, as well as government approvals and the weather.
MDT is the modular formation dynamics tester that makes real-time resistivity measurements at the wireline probe to differentiate between oil formation fluids and other muds and fluids. When contamination of the oil formation fluids is low enough, the formation fluid may be tested or sampled. Hydrocarbon properties and in-situ reservoir conditions can be assessed in real time using a dual packer system to isolate sections of the drill hole. In-situ pressure and fluid measurements can then be used to build predictive reservoir models and compositional gradation downhole.
The Peregrine project is one of four Alaskan oil and gas projects and the largest wholly owned by Energy 88. It covers 195,373 acres or approximately 79,000 hectares immediately north of the existing Umiat oilfield.
88 Energy purchased the Umiat oilfield in January 2021. Umiat is a shallow oilfield discovered in 1945 and has reserves independently estimated at 123.7 million barrels of oil.
The company spudded the Merlin-1 well at Peregrine in March 2021 and successfully found oil at three targets with 12.5m of potentially productive and profitable light oil across the three targets.
88 Energy is set to drill a massive oil target adjacent to a known oil field in a highly productive oil region of northern Alaska. The company holds 100 per cent of the project giving it maximum upside exposure. If the company strikes success and delivers on the potential of 650-odd million barrels of oil, it expects the result will see 88 Energy enter a whole new league.
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