Just as a quick follow up..... my understanding of Pryme's Chalk Play so far:
* 52,000 acres 3D seismic * drilled several shallow (non-chalk) targets (these are cased and awaiting completion - so oil/gas is there, but the wells haven't been finished, flow tested and hooked up for production), this is often a process used to test the 3D seismic data and its interpretation * Farmed out about 1/3rd of their acreage to reduce their costs and risk * Followed this up by commencing the drilling into the Austin Chalk with Deshotels 20H-No. 1. And so far, so good... - vertical drilling completed, log data collected, all going according to plan so far (at least as far as I can guess, the log data must have told them that oil/gas is present in the right places)
- horizontal drilling set to kick-off any day now and take about 3 weeks to finish
Chance of success is reasonably good: The band of Austin Chalk that produces oil and gas is quite well defined and has a long history of drilling and production. Although not a high return for investment play. So the key will be how quickly the well is cash flow positive.
Horizontal drilling has lifted the production rates for wells into the Austin Chalk and increased the cost of drilling but also increased the return on investment.
The key to increased success in the Austin Chalk seems to be drilling into a saturated fracture system at right angles to the direction of fracture. This increases not only the flow rate but also maintains a higher flow rate for a longer period of time.
So the oil/gas is almost certainly there, the key question yet to be answered with the Deshotels 20H-No. 1 drill is will they drill the horizontal in the right place and at the best angle.
Anyways, those are my thoughts of the Austin Chalk campaign... cheers, turtle
PYM Price at posting:
7.4¢ Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held
