Antrim Energy Reports Successful Operation at Erne Well

Antrim Energy reported a successful sidetrack of the Antrim-operated Erne exploration well 21/29d-11 in the UK Central North Sea, where it discovered net oil and gas pays, as flagged early this month.

Antrim holds a 50 percent working interest in Erne, and Premier Oil holds the remainder.

The 21/29d-11Z sidetrack well, designed to appraise a separate culmination from the Erne oil discovery in the Eocene Tay Formation, was drilled up-dip of the discovery location to a total measured well depth of 5,409 feet.

The sidetrack drilled approximately 24 feet of net oil pay and 14 feet of net gas pay in a high quality sandstone reservoir with porosity values measured in excess of 32 percent and corresponding high permeability.

The Tay Sandstone was intersected at a structural elevation 106 feet higher than the original penetration in the discovery well 21/29d-11. Initial interpretation is that the 21/29d-11Z sidetrack has penetrated a separate accumulation from the original 21/29d-11 well penetration, but further work is necessary to confirm this.

The sidetrack will now be suspended for potential future re-entry and use in the development of the Erne discovery.

As planned, no flow test will be performed on the sidetrack. Antrim successfully recovered pressure data and samples from both the pilot hole and the sidetrack. Results from the pilot well confirm the presence of oil similar to that produced from the nearby NW Guillemot field.

The successful Erne pilot and sidetrack wells have high-graded and de-risked other drilling prospects in the Upper Tay Formation near to Erne and along the same trend on Antrim-interest licences.

Antrim will now re-prioritize its drilling plans, fast tracking the Upper Tay drilling targets and delaying the Carra Lower Tay Formation drilling target previously scheduled for drilling before the year-end 2011.

Antrim expects to follow up on the Erne success and resume drilling in the Greater Fyne Area in 2012. This does not affect plans for the Premier-operated East Fyne appraisal well in the Fyne Field (Antrim working interest 35.1 percent), which is expected to begin drilling operations in late December.

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Offshore Nieuws Staff , December 23, 2011; Image: Antrim