Predator Oil & Gas Holdings Plc (LON: PRD) has awarded the civil engineering contract for its Snowcap-3 drilling location and production facility area in Trinidad, with site works set to begin immediately.
The Snowcap-3 drilling programme has also been prepared for regulatory approval, with the well design modified to protect the primary Herrera #8 Sand before drilling into the secondary Herrera #1 Sand, which may be over-pressured.
Snowcap-3 will be drilled vertically to around 5,450 feet and is expected to take approximately 20 days, followed by an extensive well testing programme.
The Herrera #8 Sand previously tested at a maximum initial unrestrained rate of 1,574 barrels of oil per day from Snowcap-1 in 2011, while the Herrera #1 Sand flowed at 312 bopd from Rochard-1 in 1955.
Predator said Snowcap-3 is expected to target thicker and more favourably positioned intervals than those historic wells, with testing designed to establish the optimum sustainable production rate for the planned facility.
Paul Griffiths, Chief Executive Officer of Predator Oil & Gas Holdings Plc commented:
“We are pleased to have progressed our drilling operations to the point of execution after what has been a very challenging and uncertain period in the context of the logistical supply chain, which has been impacted by the situation in the Middle East.
We are expecting drilling and well testing operations to be completed in Morocco, where the civil engineering works for the MOU-6 drilling location is well underway, and Trinidad by early November.
We are looking forward to a successful and positive conclusion to operations that will potentially have a transformational and material impact on the Company’s portfolio of assets by de-risking the ability of our reservoir targets to deliver commercial hydrocarbon flow rates.
Drilling is always the most exciting part of the oil and gas cycle as it is an operation that can immediately deliver high impact results in a success case. We have two opportunities to prove the merits of our business development strategy. We are the only company onshore Trinidad and Morocco with potentially low to moderate risk, high impact, drilling programmes this year.”
