6th Nov 2015 10:34
LONDON (Alliance News) - 88 Energy Ltd Friday provided another weekly drilling update for the Icewine-1 exploration well in Alaska.
The company started drilling the well on October 23 and is expecting to complete the well by November 23. Last week, the company said it had drilled down 3,515 feet of the total 11,600 feet in the first week of drilling activities.
As of Friday, 88 Energy had finished cementing the casing at 3,515 feet and was completing a test of the blowout preventer which seals, controls and monitors the oil and gas wells to prevent blowouts, which is when there is an uncontrolled release of oil or gas.
Casing is a large diameter pipe that is inserted into a well and cemented into place to protect the drill hole, provides foundation and prevents blowouts.
Once it has finished testing the blowout preventer, 88 Energy will perform a leak-off test, which determines the strength of fracture pressure. The results of a leakoff test dictate the maximum pressure or mud weight that may be applied to the well during drilling operations.
As previously announced, the next casing point at the well is at around 10,300 feet before it moves into coring operations at the HRZ shale formation, which is the main target of the well.
"After completing the top hole and setting casing, we are now entering into the business end of the drilling programme," said Managing Director Dave Wall. "The next two-three weeks are operationally critical to delivery of our objectives for the Icewine-1 well and we remain confident of delivering a safe and efficient outcome."
88 shares were down 0.2% to 0.659 pence per share on Friday morning.
By Joshua Warner; [email protected]; @JoshAlliance
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