Drilled

No one likes a dry hole, whether it was drilled for oil, gas or water. Some residents of Parker County, TX, say their water wells are running dry because of all the water that’s being pumped from their aquifer to produce natural gas from the Barnett Shale. However, the region also has experienced a great deal of urban development, and that, too, drains the aquifer as more residents and businesses tap the water supply. And there’s also been a drought.

Australia’s largest independent oil and natural gas operator, Woodside Petroleum Ltd., last week announced an alliance with privately held Explore Enterprises of Louisiana LLC to acquire, develop and produce properties in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Outer Continental Shelf and in the deepwater.

Vancouver-based Valkyries Petroleum Corp. said initial test results for its Canales No. 1 well drilled on the Tiara prospect in South Texas is flowing 2.7 MMcf/d and 70 bbl of condensate a day. The well spudded in mid-April and reached final depth of 9,100 feet in early May. The well will be tied into nearby production facilities, and a full field appraisal program will be carried out over the next few months. Valkyries holds a 20.63% working interest in the Canales No. 1 well. Preparations are under way to drill an offset well in which the company will have a 37.5% working interest. Valkyries also reported that a private placement announced in March has closed. The placement raised gross proceeds of C$2.25 million through the sale of one million units at C$2.25/unit with each unit consisting of one common share of Valkyries and one-half of a share-purchase warrant. Proceeds will be used for general working capital purposes.

Kerr-McGee has ramped up development of its Constitution field in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), which is estimated to have proven and probable reserves of about 110 MMboe. First production is expected by mid-2006, with peak production expected to reach 40,000 bbl/d and 75 MMcf/d in 2007.

McMoRan Exploration Co.’s JB Mountain Offset, located in South Marsh Island Block 223, has drilled to a total measured depth of 21,896 feet, and wireline logs indicate that the well encountered “significant intervals” of hydrocarbon pay in the Gyrodina sand section.

Houston-based Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc. has drilled its Riverdale #2 well in the Cabeza Creek Project area in Goliad County, TX, which tested at an unstimulated gross rate of 7,524 Mcf /d and 146 bbl/d, or 8,400 Mcfe/d, on a 18/64-inch choke with flowing tubing pressure of about 4,050 pounds per square inch. The test was done in a Wilcox zone with 36 feet of net pay. Carrizo is operator and owns a 68.75% working interest. It currently is working on a pipeline hookup and expects the well to begin production in the next two weeks. Three additional wells are expected to be necessary to fully develop the Riverdale project, the company said. Other partners include Palace Exploration, which owns a 30% working interest.

Calgary-based Canadian 88 Energy Corp. said Thursday it has successfully drilled a significant deep natural gas well in Western Alberta to a depth of 15,709 feet. The well is a stepout into the prolific Blackstone Devonian Swan Hills gas pool and log results indicate 98 feet of highly porous dolomite gas pay, averaging 10% porosity analogous to other wells in the pool.

Results of the latest fracing in a relatively shallow (2,000-foot-deep) exploration well near Delano in California’s southern central valley indicate a horizontal drilling program is going to be needed to prove the potential of what Tri-Valley Oil and Gas Corp. is calling the far West’s largest natural gas field ever.

By the end of the month, Chevron Canada Resources Ltd. expectsonly two wells drilled in the Northwest Territories to be producingabout 120 MMcf/d of gas. That is welcome news to a market indesperate need of new supply sources, particularly in westernCanada.