BNK Updates on Saponis Baltic Basin Shales
BNK Petroleum Inc. on behalf of Saponis Investments Sp z o.o, announced today that it has received additional data from the Lebork S-1 and Wytowno S-1 wells drilled on the adjacent Slawno and Slupsk concessions.
The new data from the third party contractors consists of the total organic carbons (“TOCs”) for the three target intervals in the Lebork S-1 well and partial mineralogy for the target intervals in both the Lebork S-1 and Wytowno S-1 wells.
The TOCs in the Lebork S-1 well ranged from 0.14 to 1.50, averaging 0.8 by percent weight for the Lower Silurian, 0.04 to 6.04, averaging 2.2 by percent weight for the Ordovician and 5.0 to 9.2, averaging 7.2 by percent weight for the Cambrian.
Also received were the Porosity values of the 148 meter thick Lower Silurian interval which ranged from 1.0 to 9.6, averaging 3.9% in the Lebork S-1 well. Brittleness tests were run on selected target intervals, which indicate that these intervals have similar brittleness values to producing US shales.
BNK also announced that the Starogard S-1 well on the Starogard concession in Poland, in which the Company has an indirect 26.69% interest, has been successfully drilled, cased and cemented to its total measured depth of 3524 meters. There were 107 meters of whole core recovered from the well and a full suite of logs was run. In addition, 100 sidewall cores were taken above the whole cored interval where good gas shows and preliminary log analysis indicate potential.
The whole core and sidewall cores were taken to fully evaluate the physical parameters of the rock. These analyses will provide, among other data: porosity, permeability, total organic carbon, rock eval pyrolysis, thermal maturity, gas composition, micropaleontology, mineralogy, and mechanical properties.
During drilling, numerous gas shows were recorded over 250 meters of the Lower Silurian, Ordovician and Cambrian shales. The gas shows consisted of, not only Methane gas, but also Ethane, Propane, Butane, and Pentane. The presence of heavier hydrocarbons is consistent with the Company’s thermal maturity mapping of the Baltic basin, which shows the Starogard S-1 well in a reduced thermal maturity profile as compared to the Lebork S-1 and Wytowno S-1 wells. Those two wells had an Ro equivalence of 1.8 which is in the dry gas window. For Starogard S-1, a thermal maturity profile will be established by utilizing Ro equivalence from both the Thermal Alteration Index and organic reflectance measurements. These are the same techniques that were used in Wytowno S-1 and Lebork S-1 well analyses.
Also consistent with the regional geologic model, the Cambrian shale thinned to 6 meters from what was found in the Lebork S-1 well. The Lower Silurian thickness is 147 meters, similar to the 148 meters observed in Lebork S-1 and the prospective Ordovician shale section is 24 meters thick, approximately inline with the Lebork S-1 well.
The company said that it anticipates receiving the majority of core analysis for the Starogard S-1 well by the end of the 4th quarter.
Completion activity for the Lebork S-1 well is scheduled to begin in mid-September which is anticipated to be followed by the Wytowno S-1 well completion. BNK said that it also reviewing the possibility of performing the completion of the Starogard S-1 well in conjunction with the two other wells. Further well analysis and equipment availability will determine the timing.
BNK said that it is utilizing best industry practices for drilling and testing our wells, including utilizing bladders to hold the fresh water for fracture stimulating the well instead of digging a large pit. The bladders ensure complete isolation from surface soil and water, reduce truck traffic to and from the site and increase safety. The flowback fluids are flowed directly into self-contained steel tanks on location. The company said that it is also utilizing the most environmentally friendly additives for fracture stimulation currently available from Schlumberger in Poland.
Permitting has commenced for the previously announced 2D seismic program, which consists of about 407 km on the Saponis concessions and 333 km on the Indiana concessions. BNK owns 100% of the Indiana concessions. An agreement has been signed with a seismic contractor and acquisition is scheduled to commence in the 4th quarter of 2011. The objective of the seismic program is to further define basin structure and burial history as well as to aid in the selection of individual well locations.
It is anticipated that the previously announced depth to crystalline basement study will be complete early in the 4th quarter. The study will cover a large portion of northeast Poland, and encompass the Saponis and Indiana owned acreage. Interpretation of the study is expected to provide a better understanding of general basin geometry, identify sub basins and locate significant basement-related faulting.
The Wytowno S-1, Lebork S-1 and Starogard S-1 wells are being drilled by a BNK subsidiary as Manager for Saponis Investments Sp z o.o..
BNK owns approximately 26.7 per cent of Saponis with remaining ownership with Rohöl-Aufsuchungs Aktiengesellschaft,(“RAG”) Sorgenia E&P SpA and LNG Energy through its subsidiary.
BNK holds 195,000 net acres in the Baltic Basin of Poland through Saponis and a further 880,000 adjacent net acres through Indiana Investments Sp z o.o., it’s wholly owned subsidiary.
Source: BNK Petroleum