TAG Oil Ltd. (TSXV: TAO and OTCQX: TAOIF) is pleased to provide the following operations update at the BED-1 Field in the Western Desert, Egypt:
BED 1-7 Well Production
Since initial flowback of the BED 1-7 well on April 23, 2023, the well started by unloading to surface completion fluid from the fracture stimulation and formation oil under natural flow; the Company temporarily shut-in the well to install production tubing and down-hole Electric Submersible Pump (“ESP”). The BED 1-7 well started production on May 19, 2023, from the Abu-Roash “F” (“ARF”) reservoir with the ESP pump at rates of 150 to 200 barrels of fluid per day and continued to unload remaining fracture fluid with gradual increase of formation oil over the first week. Pump speeds and surface choke adjustments were made to achieve a stabilized rate of production. Over the past two weeks, down-hole pump intake pressure and production stabilized at an average rate of 140 barrels of oil per day with about five (5) percent water content at a constant ESP pump speed and wellhead choke of 10/64”. The Company intends to maintain the same pump speed and choke size to monitor the well’s performance for the next 30 to 60 days. Cumulative oil production from the well to date is over 4,000 barrels of 23-degree API Oil.
The performance of the BED 1-7 vertical well test has achieved the Company’s objectives for the well, including the Diagnostic Fracture Injection Test (DFIT) pressure leak-off for indications of reservoir parameters, fluid samples from the ARF, successful completion of a large single-stage fracture treatment on the ARF, and inflow performance testing of the stimulated well. The Company also learned a significant amount about the availability, quality and delivery of materials and services in the Western Desert of Egypt, which will be important for implementation of the new horizontal well and working with our local partners to ensure access for equipment and personnel in field operations and establishing timeline for future operations in the BED-1 Field.
TAG Oil T100 Horizontal Well
The Company was successful in securing a suitable drilling rig for the first horizontal well, BED4-T100 (“T100”), designed with a multi-stage fracture stimulation completion of the ARF formation. The rig will be mobilized from its current location in the Western Desert by mid-July and the well is scheduled to commence drilling shortly after. Detailed drilling and completion schedule plans will be provided at that time.
The well design includes a vertical pilot assessment well for potential coring, open-hole logging, formation imaging, pressure measurement and fluid sampling, followed by cement plug-back of lower vertical pilot hole and whip-stock drilling of build and lateral horizontal sections of the T100 new well in the ARF reservoir. Information will be collected during the drilling of the well including mud logging and drill cuttings to assess the reservoir quality across the lateral, which will be used in conjunction with the work completed on the geo-mechanical properties and 3D seismic interpretation in the area to design the well completion.
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/
Neither the TSX-V nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX-V) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
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.
This press release includes cumulative production rates for a certain well over short period of time. Short term production rates are preliminary, subject to a high degree of predictive uncertainty, and not determinative of the rates at which those or other wells will continue to produce and thereafter decline. Short term test rates are not necessarily indicative of long-term well or reservoir performance or of ultimate recovery. Production over a longer period will experience natural declines, which can be high and may not be consistent over a longer period. Actual results will differ from those realized during an initial production period and the differences may be material.
References to “oil” in this press release include crude oil and field condensate.