Further to the announcement of 03 November 2023, Corcel Plc (London AIM: CRCL) is pleased to provide an update on the drilling results of the Tobias-14 ("TO-14") well in the onshore Block KON-11, in Angola where it has a 20% working interest (18% net). The Operator is Sonangol, one of the largest national hydrocarbon producers in Angola.
Highlights:
o TO-14 well - located at the top of an anticlinal structure and an offset well from the largest historic producer in the field, has reached planned target depth of 781m
o Full Binga reservoir section (~80m) encountered in the well with identical zones encountered as in previous TO-13 well and oil shows throughout
o The Operator and CRCL believe the results confirm the ability to reactivate production through an early production system ("EPS") and imply significant hydrocarbon potential remaining
o Well clean-up and flow testing now begins on TO-14
Antoine Karam, Executive Chairman of Corcel, commented: "The encouraging results of the TO-14 well constitute a significant milestone toward development of an EPS and providing line of sight to near-term revenue generation for Corcel.
At a macro level, we've confirmed that the same formations are contiguous between both wells, and data indicate that these zones contain movable oil throughout the reservoir. Given the historically wide well spacing of the field, there appears to remain substantial areas both undrained and now potentially re-charged since the original field was shuttered.
The next steps will focus on the testing of the TO-14 well so we can determine formation pressures and ultimately flowrates, and we look forward to further announcements as Sonangol, the operator, moves to well testing."
Tobias-14 Initial Results
The TO-14 well penetrated the entire Binga reservoir section (~80m column) with potential pay zones seen in multiple intervals. TO-14, with a total depth of 781m, was drilled in close proximity to TO-4 as an offset well from the best historic producer in the original Tobias field; a well which produced at its historic peak 12,580 bbls/d despite only penetrating the first 8m of the reservoir.
The location of the well is at the top of the field's anticlinal structure, set over the larger of the two compartments that constitute the reservoir.
TO-14 drilling encountered high fractured Oolitic Limestones in the reservoir with good porosity values. Initial pressure readings support Corcel's predrill thesis that the reservoir has returned to its original pressure levels through active recharge of the system.
The TO-14 well found no presence of water during drilling, despite the fact that the offset TO-4 well had been reported to have watered out by the end of its production life, further indicating that the field has fully re-equilibrated.
Overall, the drilling results for the TO-14 well were positive, with oil shows found throughout the Binga reservoir in alignment with the distribution seen in historic production wells in the Tobias field, confirming both moveable fluids and the ability to reactivate production in the field.
Therefore, the consortium is proceeding to testing of the TO-14 and then the TO-13 wells, with the objective of flowing the wells and then moving on to the next phase focused on designing the early production system.