- Melbana Energy (MAY) secures final approvals and completes civil works ahead of the planned drilling of the Alameda-2 appraisal well in Cuba
- A drilling rig is anticipated to mobilise to the site once it has wrapped up a current project in the third week of March — a slight delay from the early March date given in the company’s last update
- The upcoming program is designed to appraise the Amistad reservoir, which was the shallowest of three independent oil reservoirs encountered in Alameda-1
- Alameda-2 is the first of two appraisal wells planned for this year within Melbana’s Block 9 production-sharing contract area, in which it holds a 30 per cent interest
- MAY shares are down 8.5 per cent and trading at 8.6 cents at 3:31 pm AEDT.
Melbana Energy (MAY) has secured approvals and completed civil works ahead of the planned drilling of the Alameda-2 appraisal well in Cuba.
Alameda-2 is the first of two appraisal wells planned for this year within Melbana’s Block 9 production-sharing contract area, in which it holds a 30 per cent interest.
The upcoming program is designed to appraise the Amistad reservoir, which was the shallowest of three independent oil reservoirs encountered by the Alameda-1 well completed last year.
Melbana has engaged the same drilling contractor to complete Alameda-2 that carried out the last two exploration wells in the Block 9 area.
At the end of January, Melbana said drilling was due to commence in early March, but now the contractor has advised the rig would mobilise to the Alameda pad once it was released from a current project, which is anticipated to wrap up in the third week of March.
Civil works have been completed ahead of the drilling rig’s arrival.
Melbana Energy Executive Chairman Andrew Purcell said the company’s operational planning was increasingly focussed on optimising its work program as the start of drilling looms.
“We have revised our well design, using lessons learned previously, to assist with gathering additional data that would support an increase in the resource estimates of this first reservoir at this location,” Mr Purcell said.
Following this round of drilling, MAY hopes oil will flow independently from all three productive units encountered in Alameda-1.
In reaching this objective, as well as carrying out evaluations of the quality of the recovered oil and assessments of the production characteristics, Melbana said it should be able to assess the commercial potential of the first reservoir and establish a maiden reserve.
In the meantime, Melbana said it was waiting on the final shipment of additional inventory items, due to arrive in Cuba in the first week of April.
Alameda-2 has been approved to be kept as a future oil producer, if successful. Additionally, plans are in place to plug and abandon Alameda-1 while the rig is on station.
MAY shares were down 8.5 per cent and trading at 8.6 cents at 3:31 pm AEDT.