OREANDA-NEWS.   Oryx Petroleum Corporation Limited announced the successful testing of the DD-4 appraisal well on the Demir Dagh field in the Hawler license area in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Oryx Petroleum has a 65% participating and working interest in the Hawler license area.

Commenting, Henry Legarre, Oryx Petroleum’s Chief Operating Officer, stated:
“We are pleased with the successful testing of the DD-4 appraisal well, the first appraisal well to complete drilling and testing on the Demir Dagh field. Overall, the results confirm those of the Demir Dagh discovery with good flow rates, similar fluid characteristics and reservoir properties as observed in Demir Dagh-2.”

DD-4 Appraisal Well Testing
The Romfor 22 rig spudded the Demir Dagh-4 appraisal well (DD-4) in late December 2013, and reached total depth of 1,895 metres in the lower Cretaceous in early February 2014. The well was drilled down-dip on the southern flank of the anticline approximately 1.5 km to the south-west of the Demir Dagh-2 discovery well (DD-2) on the other side of a major fault in order to appraise the flank of the Cretaceous reservoir. The well has been completed as a producing well.

Fluid losses were observed during drilling, four cores were cut and a full suite of logging data was collected. The well data interpretation confirmed the presence of hydrocarbons, a development of matrix porosity and a similar open fracture network as observed in DD-2.

A drill stem test was conducted over a 53 metre interval in the Kometan formation in the upper Cretaceous reservoir. The well was flowed over a total of 67 hours using a series of different choke sizes. The test flowed at a sustained rate of 3,500 bbl/d of oil for a 6 hour period on a 128/64” choke but was constrained by the diameter of the testing string. The oil gravity was measured on site at 21° API. Gas to Oil Ratio (GOR) measurements ranged from 65 to 115 scf/stb and hydrogen sulphide was measured at 0.25-0.5%. No water production or pressure declines were observed during the test. All field fluid measurements will require laboratory analysis to confirm results and should be considered preliminary until such analysis has been done. The test results are not necessarily indicative of long-term performance or of ultimate recovery.

The DD-4 well has been completed as a producing well with 4.5” tubing which the Corporation expects will enable production rates higher than achieved during testing. DD-4 and DD-2 will contribute to expected first production in the second quarter of 2014.

Ongoing Demir Dagh Appraisal
The Romfor 22 rig has moved and recently spudded the Demir Dagh-5 appraisal well (DD-5) approximately 3 km to the west of DD-2. DD-5 will be drilled to the Lower Cretaceous and is targeting the saddle area between the Demir Dagh and Banan structures. Drilling and testing are expected to be completed in Q2 2014.