Planned to drill to a total depth of 3,050m, the Heron-1 well will target a prospect of 25 million barrels of oil (MMbo) of mean prospective recoverable resource

pumpjack-591934_640(1)

Image: The well is being drilled with the DQE International 40105 rig. Photo courtesy of skeeze from Pixabay.

Petro Matad, the Mongolian oil explorer, has announced the spud of the Heron-1 exploration well in the Tamsag Basin of Block XX.

Being drilled with the DQE International 40105 rig, the well is an appraisal of the T19-46 oil field located immediately to the north in Block XIX.

Planned to drill to a total depth of 3,050m, the Heron-1 well will target a prospect of 25 million barrels of oil (MMbo) of mean prospective recoverable resource.

Petro Matad plans to bring in seperate rig for testing in case of a discovery

Petro Matad said that in case of a discovery, it is planning to bring in a separate rig for testing, and has signed a call-off testing contract, to ensure testing operations start soon after discovery.

The well is expected to be completed in 40 days, and once drilling operations at Heron-1 completed, the rig is expected to be moved 5 km to the Gazelle-1 location.

The company is already engaged in mobilising its second contracted rig to the Red Deer-1 location, with a targeted spud date before the end of July.

Petro Matad CEO Mike Buck said: “We are delighted to announce the spudding of the Heron-1 exploration well in Block XX to commence our fully-funded 2019 drilling programme. The second half of the year has the potential to be a transformational period for Petro Matad and we look forward to updating you on our progress.”

In April 2019, Petro Matad signed contracts with Mongolia-based active drilling operator DQE International, for its Rig 40105, to drill the Heron 1 and Gazelle 1 wells in Block XX.

The company said that under the contract, it holds the option to drill an additional well to allow for immediate appraisal of any discovery made during the 2019 drilling program.

Petro Matad claims that it holds 100% working interest and the operatorship of three production sharing contracts with the Government of Mongolia, for Block XX spanning over an area of 10,367 km2 in the far eastern part of the country, Block IV with 29,062 km2 of area and Block V with 21,143 km2, in the central western part of the country.