The Houston-based Apache Corporation recently reported its first wildcat discovery of 2002. The first of three zones in the Ozoris-1X oil discovery on Apache's Khalda Concession in Egypt's Western Desert, is expected to produce 2,504 barrels of API oil and three-quarters of a million cubic feet of gas per day, reported a press release.
The discovery is six miles from the nearest well bore and nine miles from the nearest field on the two-million-acre Khalda Concession, in which Apache holds a 100 percent contractor interest. It was tested in the Cretaceous Alam el Bueib (AEB) 3D sand on a one-inch choke with 161 pounds per square inch of flowing pressure. The AEB is a prolific producing horizon at Khalda Ridge 12 miles to the east.
"This is a significant discovery for Apache. The pay zone tested was more than 1,500 feet down dip from the crest of the Khalda Ridge, one of the largest hydrocarbon accumulations in the Western Desert, yet still had good porosity and permeability," said Apache President and Chief Operating Officer G. Steven Farris. "And we still have another 65 feet of potential pay to test in two additional uphole zones." Development plans will be determined as soon as the wildcat well has been fully evaluated.
Apache is the largest producer of liquid hydrocarbons in the Western Desert, with operated production of approximately 79,000 barrels per day, and the second-largest producer of natural gas, with operated production of approximately 190 MMcf per day.
Apache Corporation is a large oil and gas independent with operations in the United States, Canada, Egypt, Western Australia, Poland, China and Argentina. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
