In the past two days, Pantheon Resources (PANR) has updated the official Twitter account with images, and news of the progress on the Dalton highway.
Work on the Alkaid #2 drill pad begins. The short distance to the Dalton highway (seen in the foreground) offers tremendous advantage, allowing year-round drilling.
Work continues at the Alkaid 2 pad, immediately adjacent to the Dalton Highway (& pipeline) with a geotextile pad laid before laying gravel. In development scenarios, the advantages of such a location can be measured in years!
Pantheon has formally executed contracts for the Nabors 105AC drill rig to drill the Alkaid #2 well, scheduled to spud in July 2022. If successful, Pantheon will commence a long term production test and truck and sell the produced oil to a nearby North Slope facility. The Alkaid #2 wellhas three objectives (from shallowest to deepest);
i. To appraise the shallower Shelf Margin Deltaic horizon, which management believes contains a Contingent Resource of 2.6 billion barrels Oil in Place and 404 million barrels recoverable resource;
ii. To commence a long-term production test of the primary objective Alkaid horizon, which the independent expert engineering firm Lee Keeling & Associates estimates to contain 76.5 million barrels of oil Contingent Resources (recoverable); and
iii. To evaluate the extent of the oil column within the Alkaid horizon immediately below the total depth at Alkaid #1. Alkaid #1 was terminated within the oil zone due to flooding of the Dalton Highway at the time. Based on seismic and other analytical analysis, the Company believes the Alkaid horizon’s oil zone is substantially thicker than reported to date, offering the potential for additional resource growth.
The Alkaid #2 well is a step out from the Alkaid #1 discovery well, which was drilled as a vertical test well and flow tested 108 barrels of oil per day through a six foot perforated interval. Alkaid #2 will be drilled horizontally to maximise flow rates and is expected to substantially exceed those seen at Alkaid #1. This will be discussed further in the Company’s Investor Presentation broadcast at 5:00 pm BST (British Summer Time) today, details are provided below.
Approval of Plan of Operations
In addition to securing the rig contract, Pantheon has received Plan of Operations approval from the State of Alaska, Department of Natural Resources on the Alkaid projects. Along with permits from the Corps of Engineers and the North Slope Borough, all necessary permits and authorizations to begin construction of the Alkaid #2 gravel pad and driveway(s) have now been secured and earthwork operations are expected to commence imminently.
Jay Cheatham, CEO of Pantheon Resources, commented, “Following our successful winter season, we are moving ahead by securing the rig and necessary permits for the construction of the pad at Alkaid #2 planned for this summer. We are on track to spud in July, allowing Pantheon to commence a long-term production test and, importantly, begin generating revenue for the Company, as well as conducting potentially impactful appraisals of the Shelf Margin Deltaic and the deeper portion of the Alkaid horizon.
Bob Rosenthal, Technical Director, commented, “Following the reported flow rates in certain horizons tested in the vertical Theta West and Talitha test wells, we are pleased to share with investors our approach to modelling possible horizontal outcomes. This analysis is extremely important given our 100% working interest Theta West, Talitha and Greater Alkaid projects are estimated by management to contain over 23 billion barrels of Oil in Place and over 2.3 billion barrels of recoverable resource in those horizons that flowed oil.”
Notes to Editors
Pantheon Resources plc is an AIM listed oil and gas company focused on several large projects located on the North Slope of Alaska (“ANS”), onshore USA where it has a 100% working interest in 153,000 highly prospective acres with over 23 billion barrels estimated oil in place and over 2 billion barrels of oil recoverable. A major differentiator to other ANS projects is its close proximity to transport and pipeline infrastructure which offers a significant competitive advantage to Pantheon, allowing for materially lower capital costs and far more rapid development times. The Group’s stated objective is to create material value for its stakeholders through oil exploration, appraisal and development activities in high impact, highly prospective conventional assets in the USA, a highly established region for energy production with infrastructure, skilled personnel and low sovereign risk. All operations are onshore USA, with drilling costs materially below that of offshore wells.
For further information on Pantheon Resources plc, see the website at: www.pantheonresources.com
