Third well has potential to be most successful well in the entire Cook Inlet – Assumptions on natural gas reserves and daily production likely to be far exceeded.
Word has already spread like wildfire in the Cook Inlet region: the third well drilled in the Kitchen Lights Unit (KLU#3) by the U.S. subsidiary of Deutsche Oel & Gas has the potential to be the most successful natural gas well in the entire Cook Inlet of Alaska.
After a drilling time of just 14 days, much earlier than planned, the target depth of around 10,500 feet (equivalent to approx. 3,000 metres) was reached during the past week, proving four exceptionally large natural gas zones in the process.
The specialists at the U.S. subsidiary were admittedly already very optimistic about the development of the third well, based on the results from the first two wells in close proximity. However, following initial evaluations of the borehole measurements that have now been taken, and based on the soil and natural gas samples, the experts are now projecting that both the suspected natural gas reserves and the forecast daily production will far exceed all expectations.
Indeed the pressure in each of the four production zones is so great that each zone is now going to be tested individually. It is particularly this extraordinarily high pressure, along with the high daily production rate anticipated as a result, that could turn KLU#3 into one of, if not the largest, natural gas production wells in the entire Cook Inlet.
In order to get more detailed information on the expected daily production rates, extensive flow tests are to be carried out over several weeks in each of the four production zones from mid-June. These flow tests will also provide an even more precise indication of the available gas reserves. Once the tests have been carried out, the “expected reserves” will then become “tested and proven natural gas reserves”. The results of the flow tests are expected to be available as early as mid-July.