Pressure decline at SDX's MA-1X probe
SDX is reporting pressure declines at its Mohsen gas discovery in Egypt's onshore South Disouq concession, indicating there may be less commercial gas reserves than originally anticipated, the company announced June 15.
Production testing at the MA-1X well has revealed "a change" in rock facies closer-to-bore than expected in Mohsen's primary basal Kafr El Sheikh target, encountered at a measured depth of 5,762 ft.
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The change suggests the facies could be compartmentalising the gas to some extent, though SDX says there will be no material impact on the production probe's in-place gas reserves. This is because a higher-than-expected well-head pressure decline was observed over a three-day production test.
SDX on June 8 announced MA-1X had encountered a 56.3-ft net pay gas sand column, with an average porosity of 31.9%. Production tests started with "good" flow rates of around 8.0mn ft3/day of gas. SDX is now undertaking a pressure build up test to obtain relevant data from downhole gauges, and will make the results of this testing available in coming weeks.
Mohsen's existing 3D seismic coverage will be reprocessed in coming months, allowing SDX to update its commercialisation plan for the discovery, which may now involve drilling three or more wells, rather than two as originally anticipated.
Mark Reid, CEO of SDX, said: "The higher-than-expected pressure decline from the MA-1X test is a surprise and inconsistent with what we have seen in our analogous Ibn Yunus wells.
"We will work closely with our partners over the next three months interpreting the test results and reprocessing and re-interpreting the existing 3D seismic over the discovery.
"At the end of this process, we will update the market as to the proposed commercialisation strategy for the discovery which may mean that an additional well or wells could be required to produce out this discovery."