TAG Oil Ltd. (TSXV: TAO and OTCQX: TAOIF) is pleased to report that re-entry and installation of the completion string at the BED 1-7 well has been successfully completed.
The re-entry operation included installation of a new well-head assembly, removal of the old tubing string and dual packer assembly, isolation of previously perforated upper reservoir layers in the Abu-Roash formation and cleaning the well down to base depth at approximately 3,250 m. After conditioning the wellbore, a new completion string was installed in the open-hole section of the well across the Abu-Roash “F” (“ARF”) formation in preparation for hydraulic fracture stimulation. Indications of reservoir pressure and oil content were evident during completion activities with samples of ARF oil recovered to surface and high pressures in the formation identified to be close to original reservoir pressures.
The next steps on BED 1-7 include perforation and diagnostic fracture injectivity testing (“DFIT”) of the ARF formation to identify natural fracture matrix characteristics through pressure build-up and leak-off profiles during the DFIT. This will be followed by evaluating the potential of the ARF in the vertical completion through hydraulic fracturing, flow-back and stabilized production performance. The fracture stimulation will be one of the largest pumped in Egypt; specifically, a water-based system with greater than 100 tons of proppant and 4,000 barrels of water injected at high pressures and pump rates
The Company currently expects the remaining work on BED 1-7 to be completed by mid-April and to release the well’s initial daily production data by the end of April.
Planning for the first horizontal well (“T100”) is currently under-way with the site identified and lease build commencement scheduled for April. Work has progressed to secure a suitable drilling rig for the one well program in 2023, with updated spud now projected in the summer of 2023 to allow sufficient time to assess and incorporate performance from BED 1-7 and on-going 3D seismic review and geo-mechanical studies into the T100 new drill design.
TAG Oil anticipates completion of the T100 in Q3 2023 and bringing the well on stabilized production in Q4 2023.
Toby Pierce, TAG Oil’s CEO commented, “While the re-entry and completion operation has taken longer than forecast due to the procedural steps necessary for contracting of the various services in Egypt, the project remains on budget and has also provided valuable information required for planning our first horizontal well. I would like to thank our team, our Egyptian partners, and EGPC for their hard work to get us to this point.”
About TAG Oil Ltd.
TAG Oil (http://www.tagoil.com/) is a Canadian based international oil and gas exploration company with a focus on opportunities in the Middle East and North Africa.
For further information:
Toby Pierce, Chief Executive Officer
Phone: 1 604 609 3355
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.tagoil.com/
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Forward-Looking Statements
Statements contained in this news release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainty affecting the business of TAG Oil. All estimates and statements that describe the Company’s operations are forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws and necessarily involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may vary materially from the information provided in this release, and there is no representation by TAG Oil that the actual results realized in the future will be the same in whole or in part as those presented herein. TAG Oil undertakes no obligation, except as otherwise required by law, to update these forward-looking statements if management’s beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors change.
Exploration for hydrocarbons is a speculative venture necessarily involving substantial risk. The Company’s future success in exploiting and increasing its current resource base will depend on its ability to develop its current properties and on its ability to discover and acquire properties or prospects that are capable of commercial production. However, there is no assurance that the Company’s future exploration and development efforts will result in the discovery or development of additional commercial accumulations of oil and natural gas. In addition, even if further hydrocarbons are discovered, the costs of extracting and delivering the hydrocarbons to market and variations in the market price may render uneconomic any discovered deposit. Geological conditions are variable and unpredictable. Even if production is commenced from a well, the quantity of hydrocarbons produced inevitably will decline over time, and production may be adversely affected or may have to be terminated altogether if the Company encounters unforeseen geological conditions. The Company is subject to uncertainties related to the proximity of any resources that it may discover to pipelines and processing facilities. It expects that its operational costs will increase proportionally to the remoteness of, and any restrictions on access to, the properties on which any such resources may be found. Adverse climatic conditions at such properties may also hinder the Company’s ability to carry on exploration or production activities continuously throughout any given year.