Oil & gas company Hyperdynamics completed the top portion of the Fatala-1 exploration well offshore Guinea over the weekend with early indications supporting the geophysical model of the prospect.
The exploration well is being drilled with the Pacific Drilling-owned drillship, the Pacific Scirocco.
In its latest drilling status update on Monday, Hyperdynamics informed that the BOP stack was lowered onto the sea floor and latched on to the 20-inch wellhead housing and was fully pressure and function tested before drilling out the 20-inch casing shoe.
The casing shoe was drilled out and a formation integrity test was run and the results of this test provided further positive confirmation that the geologic model being utilized in the well planning and design is accurate, the company said.
The drilling of the 17½ inch hole has progressed to 4,270 meters total depth, or about 1,370 meters below mudline effective 6 AM CST Monday on the way to an estimated depth of 4,545 meters, where the 13-3/8-inch casing will be set above the potentially hydrocarbon-bearing interval at a total depth of approximately 4,900 meters.
Background gas levels for the Paleocene and Upper Cretaceous sections have been consistently approximately 200% of the level encountered in the equivalent section of the nearby Sabu 1 well, completed in 2012 by Hyperdynamics, supporting the geophysical interpretation by eSeis of a gas cloud overlying the prospect.
“I’m pleased with our excellent operational progress as well as with early indications that support the geophysical model of the prospect. I am also happy to report that we are finished with the top portion of the Fatala-1 well, which is the deepest water well ever drilled offshore Africa,” said Ray Leonard , President and Chief Executive Officer of Hyperdynamics.
“In the final drilling stage, we will drill the 12-1/4 inch hole through the interval that we believe holds the potential for a world-class hydrocarbon discovery,” he said.
Leonard added, “Hyperdynamics operational team has relocated to Conakry in Guinea for this crucial last portion of the well operations and is not affected by the current devastating storm in Houston. We are making all efforts to ensure the safety of our Houston staff and send our prayers and best wishes to the people of Houston and the surrounding areas in this difficult time.”
Hyperdynamics is the operator and a 50-50 partner in this exploration project with SAPETRO, an African focused privately held oil and gas exploration and production company with a portfolio of assets in West and East Africa.