Pantheon Resources PLC (AIM:PANR, OTCQX:PTHRF) told investors that the initial results from the Megrez-1 well, in Alaska, had exceeded pre-drill expectations.
The well, part of the Ahpun project, encountered a total of seven intersections across four ‘horizons’ – the Lower Sagavanirktok (three sections), Upper Prince Creek, Lower Prince Creek, and Upper Schrader Bluff (two sections).
Preliminary analysis indicates an overall increase in the ‘vertical thickness’ of the hydrocarbon section, to 2,425 feet, Pantheon added, with the ‘liquid column’ observed to be larger than expected.
Potentially, this may result in a resource upgrade of between 15% and 50% across the horizons, Pantheon said. For context, prior to drilling, the project was estimated at 609 million barrels.
Flow testing will get underway later in the first quarter, to assess each of the four zones for production potential.
“The preliminary assessment of the Megrez-1 well results already far exceeds pre-drill estimates,” Pantheon technical director Bob Rosenthal said.
“The Megrez structure appears to have trapped a larger pool than we expected.
“The additional prospective zones in the Lower Sagavanirktok Formation, identified above the Prince Creek Formation, provide further upside that we had not previously considered.”
"We will require extensive further work to map their extent and assess the best flow testing strategy. Megrez-1 is particularly exciting, especially considering its size and location - being virtually under the Trans Alaska Pipeline."
David Hobbs, Pantheon executive chair, meanwhile, added: “It is very early to put estimates on the Ahpun Field's eastern conventional reservoir accumulations but preliminary analysis … hints at a best estimate of expected ultimate recoveries for the entire Ahpun field that may compete with Kodiak field estimates.
"The commercial significance of the Megrez-1 well will be better understood once all the zones are tested but the belief shown by Bob Rosenthal and the Geoscience team in this prospect has been fully vindicated."