San Leon Energy’s Laayoune-4 well, drilled on the Tarfaya conventional license onshore Morocco, encountered gas shows. The well was drilled with Entrepose Drilling’s Cabot 750 rig, targeting Tertiary channel sandstones and with an expected total depth (TD) of around 2,000 meters.
The gas shows were encountered within the reservoir section, whose gross thickness of 23 meters of sandstone and conglomerate was around 10 meters more than prognosed, Reservoir interval porosity was up to 18, with some carbonate laminae, The reservoir was encountered some 100 meters more shallow to prognosis, and confirmed the geological concept of a thick sand channel system.
The company said that elevated mud gas readings, including measurements up to C3 in the shallowest sands, coincided with the logged reservoir section.
A gas and liquid kick was taken while drilling below the reservoir interval, leading to total depth being called early on the well at 1,814 mBRT. The mud weight used was relatively heavy at 14 ppg, and no measurable mud losses were observed while drilling the target interval, providing good evidence for the over-pressured nature of the formation.
The Laayoune-4 has now been suspended, pending further studies and to allow future re-entry. ONHYM and San Leon intend jointly to apply for a new eight year exploration license. San Leon intends, during the first period of the new license, to acquire a 3D seismic survey across the multiple channels of the Tertiary play, one channel of which was drilled by the Laayoune-4 well.
Based upon the results of the seismic, San Leon would consider the option of re-entering the Laayoune-4 well (including testing), drilling an additional well, or both.