Lukoil has concluded until now the drilling of seven out of nine exploration wells it committed to drill under a contract awarded by the Saudi oil ministry in 2004. Of the seven wells, two — Mushaib-1 and Tukman — were successful and five were dry, a Lukoil spokesperson said.
“Two wells are being drilled now after the success of Mushaib-1 and Tukman,” he said.
Gas demand in the kingdom has increased quickly in recent years, driven by a petro-dollar-fired economic boom that has seen billions of dollars being spent on industrial and infrastructure projects. It is believed that latest exploration projects in the Empty Quarter and other areas will pump extra gas reserves to help meet upcoming demand.
Previous week, Vagit Alekperov Lukoil chief executive said that an anticipated 70 million tons of condensate and 300 billion cubic meters of gas reserves under C1 and C2 classification had been struck in the company’s contract area. However, the spokesperson said it is still too early to count the amount of commercial gas available.
“It’s difficult to say how much because the testing…is still being conducted and we didn’t get final results,” he said, adding that reserve figures had to be approved by Saudi Aramco before production can start.
“Estimation and appraisal may take two years from 2009 but if we signed the documents with Saudi Aramco earlier we will start earlier,” the spokesperson added.
