Irish Junior Hits Gas in West Siberia

Irish firm Petroneft said in April 27 it had discovered a condensate-rich gas cap at the Cheremshanskoye field in the Tomsk region of Western Siberia, after re-entering a well.

The C-3 well was sunk at the southern portion of the Cheremshanskoye field in 2011 and recovered hydrocarbons from three zones. Petroneft re-entered and re-perforated the borehole on March 29, with the aim of inducing natural flow to surface at commercial rates.

The well was tested at various choke settings, but stabilised flow could not be achieved because of the waxy oil and condensate and tight formation, the London-listed company said. A total of 202 barrels of liquids were extracted during tests, with the highest recovery rate of 46 barrels being achieved on April 6.

Petroneft CEO David Sturt said the company was pleased with the discovery.

"Whilst we are disappointed that we did not flow hydrocarbons at commercial rates, we are pleased that we managed to establish that the J14 interval is a liquids-rich gas-filled reservoir," he said.

Petroneft had intended to test the Upper Jurassic J1-1 and J1-3 intervals to establish commercial production, before moving on to test the L-2 and L-2a well at the Ledovoye field.

"However, in light of the current economic situation combined with the coronavirus shutdowns in Russia, we believe it is prudent to suspend operations for now," Sturt said.