Pantheon Resources PLC (AIM:PANR, OTCQX:PTHRF) told investors it has now begun operations for its project to re-enter the Alkaid-2 well, with the exploration company seeking to harvest best possible data rather than maximise flow rates.
"We are pleased that operations for the re-entry at Alkaid-2 have now begun,” chief executive Jay Cheatham said in a statement.
“As stated, we are not targeting maximum flow rates, instead, this programme is designed to allow for as much data gathering as possible.
“Whilst the location of the Alkaid-2 well is not ideal for the shallower SMD horizon, the company was pleasantly surprised to have logged oil pay when drilling through the SMD en route to the primary target, the ZOI.
“This has provided a low cost option to assess both the productivity of the shallower horizon and test our improved frac design."
The programme is expected to see the team run a plug to isolate the Alkaid "zone of interest" below the SMD horizon, perforate a limited section of reservoir, pump 11,000 barrels of water and 400,000 pounds of sand.
It aims to flow back gas slowly in order to gather the most representative fluid samples possible.
And it will monitor pressures throughout to assess frac efficiency and original reservoir pressure.
The work programme follows analysis of the well data and an assessment of prior work by Tony Beilman, an expert in North American fracking and the company’s recently appointed senior VP of Engineering, who believes Pantheon can achieve a 4x improvement on previous tests to hit "typical performance benchmarks".
Among the objectives of the re-entry programme is to assess the efficacy of an updated frac design.