Energy expert on discovery: The tip of the goldmine

The mid-March announcement by Bayfield Energy of an oil and gas discovery in its Galeota Licence EG8 is evidence that the field has more than 100 million barrels of oil that can be produced, according to petroleum consultant Dr Krishna Persad. Persad has for many years argued that there is significant oil to be discovered in areas that had been previously explored and with improved technology, there is at least another billion barrels of oil that can be produced from these areas. In a telephone interview on Tuesday, Persad reminded that he did a study in the 1970s which showed there was significant oil in the southern trend of the field. Today, he feels that Bayfield will eventually produce as many as 10,000 barrels a day of oil from the field. Bayfield announced that it has suspended its drilling activity as an oil and gas discovery had been made. According to the company, the discovery was made at a total depth of 8,133 feet (2,479 metres). EG8 is located 930 miles east of a previous discovery, well EG2, which was drilled in 1978 and tested oil and gas.

 

 

“EG8 was deviated from its surface location towards the south west in order to target the crestal area of mapped horizons in the prospective EG2/EG5 Central fault block. “The well encountered ten hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone reservoir zones between 1,364 feet (416 metres) and 6,000 feet (1,829 metres) below mean sea level.” Preliminary analysis indicates that the vertical thickness of net hydrocarbon-bearing sands totals 421 feet (128 metres), of which 352 feet (107 metres) is gas and 69 feet (21 metres) is oil, Bayfield stated. Persad told Business Guardian the Bayfield discovery is “very encouraging and quite significant.” He said there was a discovery in 1978 and then another well was drilled, but it was drilled in the wrong place and was a dry hole. Since then no other well has been drilled. “That is what you get when you drill a bad well, you have people not taking chances for long periods. But I am sure there is oil in this block, at least 100 million barrels in recoverable reserves. Most of that oil is south side of the block in discreet fields.”

 

 

Bayfield said a comprehensive programme of logging and sampling has been conducted and samples of oil were collected in the oil zone and a mini-drill stem test (mini-DST) was conducted on wireline. “The data confirms light oil and good quality reservoir with production potential of more than 1,000 barrels of oil per day. Samples of gas and gas condensate were also collected in other reservoirs.” Energy consultant Helena Inniss-King said that it is too early to say exactly how much oil is in the block or in the well because enough tests have not been done. She said it is a good start to the programme, but more studies are needed. Bayfield is currently integrating the new well data into the 3d seismic mapping to study the impact on contingent and prospective resources. The company said EG8 well has demonstrated development potential of 32 million barrels (mmbbls) of oil and 69 billion standard cubic feet (bscf) of gas in the EG2/EG5/EG8 central and east fault blocks. Initial interpretation suggests that substantially, all of the gas potential lies within the Galeota licence, though the oil potential extends into an adjacent licence in which Bayfield has no participating interest. The jack-up drilling unit, Rowan Gorilla III, will shortly move to the EG7 location to drill the second of Bayfield’s seven exploration and appraisal well commitments in the Galeota licence.