The well has been drilled to test an exploration prospect approximately 10km to the east of the Melrose operated Galata field production platform. The new gas discovery lies in between two other recent discoveries, Kavarna and Kaliakra, which contain combined reserves of 74bcf and are currently being developed using sub-sea production wells tied back to the Galata platform.
The Kavarna East No 1 well penetrated the top of the Paleocene reservoir interval at a depth of 2753ft and encountered a net gas pay of 89ft with an average porosity of 29%. The preliminary reserves estimate for the discovery is 12bcf, in line with pre-drill estimates, and it is expected to be developed using a low cost tie-back to the Kavarna sub-sea well location.
Melrose said that the well encountered a gross gas column of approximately 130ft, and consistent with the other fields, which have been discovered on the same geologic trend, the reservoir structure is thought to be filled with gas to the spill point.
This provides further evidence that the regional biogenic gas source is substantial and that gas volumes may have migrated further north into the central area of the Galata block. The company plans to acquire seismic over this area of the concession in 2011 to evaluate its prospectivity.
