Ensco Offshore has secured a drilling contract from Byron Energy for South Marsh Island Block 71 drilling and completion program in the Gulf of Mexico.

Under the 60-day contract, the Ensco 68 jack-up rig will be used to drill the SM71 F2 well and complete the SM71 F2 and SM71 F1 wells.

The SM71 F2 well includes two targets, comprising of B65 Sand and D5 Sand. Byron will primarily focus on the development of D5 Sand reservoir, which will serve as second take point for the SM71 F2.

Byron’s initial SM71 #1 well, which was drilled in 2016, logged 151ft of oil pay in four zones.

As per the Collarini Associates’ independent reserve assessment, a total of 2.271 million barrels equivalent net is expected from the SM71 F1 well on a 2P basis, with the bulk amount is anticipated from the D5 Sand.

The D5 Sand was productive in other parts of the South Marsh Island 73 Field, where around 20 million barrels of oil produced from multiple D5 Sand completions.

SM71 F2’s secondary target is the B65 Sand, which is situated above the D5 Sand.

Byron’s RTM and proprietary inversion processing shows a positive anomaly at the B65 Sand level, which is correspondent to known productive reservoirs of the B65 Sand.

According to Byron, Collarini assigned 2.042 million barrels of oil and 2.0 bcf of gas net to the company to the B65 Sand as prospective resources.

The B65 has generated 13 million barrels of oil from four trapping areas across the SM73 field.

Expected to take around 30 days for drilling, the SM71 F2 well is currently programmed to a depth of 8,965ft/2,608m measured depth.

Byron Energy has 50% working interest in South Marsh Island Block 71, and is the operator of the block. Otto Energy holds the remaining 50% stake in the block.

Byron CEO Maynard Smith said: “The Ensco 68 is a high quality drilling rig with a reliable operating history in the Gulf of Mexico. Signing this contract is another important step towards establishing Byron’s first operated production platform.”

Image: Ensco 68 jack-up rig will drill the SM71 F2 well. Photo: courtesy of Ensco Plc.