Tag Oil, an oil and gas producer, has completed its first fracture stimulation at the Cheal oil and gas field, since acquiring a 100% interest in the Taranaki Basin new field oil and gas discovery in late 2009.
Tag said that it has completed a 17-ton artificial fracture stimulation into the Mt. Messenger Formation on the Cheal A7 well. Initial flow testing has increased daily production rates on the Cheal A7 well by approximately 365% to 292 BOE per day.
According to the company, the well is expected to take up to two weeks to fully clean-up and is currently being choked back to minimize frac-sand flow back. Prior to the fracture stimulation, the Cheal A7 well was producing 80 BOE per day.
This field’s oil sells to West Texas Intermediate, primarily to Australian, Korean and Japanese refineries, and the A7 well has been tied into Tag’s nearby Cheal Production Station.
Tag owns 100% of the Cheal Production Licence, which is only lightly explored. In addition to the inherent potential within the defined Cheal discovery area, including additional existing Cheal production wells as fracture candidates, the company has an inventory of follow-on prospects identified on 3D seismic and drill-ready.
Garth Johnson, CEO of Tag Oil, said: “‘The success of this newly fractured Cheal A7 well provides a catalyst for future development of the field. In addition to the increased cash flow, these results should also increase overall recovery potential of the field, as well as contribute to lower production and finding costs.”