Spirit fast tracks Warwick Lincoln
John Wood
Spirit Energy will fund UK operator Hurricane Energy and drill 3 horizontal wells in fractured basement on the Rona Ridge in 2019.
Fig. 1 Greater Warwick Area and 3 Well programme (Hurricane)
The Lincoln discovery (205/26b-12) and the Warwick exploration prospects on the Rona Ridge West of Shetland (WoS) are estimated to hold 604 MM boe of 2C contingent resources and 935 MM boe of prospective resources respectively, according to Hurricane. Press Release 1, Spirit Energy to invest in discovery west of Shetland
Three well programme
Spirit Energy is planning three wells will have 1 kilometre horizontal sections in the basement. Two horizontal wells on Warwick and one horizontal well on Lincoln will be drilled to determine if large-scale faults act as pressure barriers and to prove productivity from the fractured basement.
The Lincoln horizontal well, 205/26b-B, has been preferentially located to facilitate long term testing via tie-back to the Lancaster Field Aoka Miu FPSO.
The ‘Warwick Deep’ well 205/26b-C, will be drilled below local structural closure in order to prove flow rates from this unexplored depth interval.
Assuming no evidence of fault compartments is observed from DST pressures, and then the depths selected in these three wells will allow an oil gradient to be defined. Press Release 2, Hurricane, Spirit Energy Farm-in to Greater Warwick Area
Fig. 2 Greater Warwick (GWA) – schematic of proposed well locations (Hurricane)
Seismic Basement structure map (Hurricane)
These compartments are separated by major fault zones interpreted as ‘thrust’ faults on the Basement structure depth map (Hurricane) Fig. 3. Evidence of over steepening of fault planes may suggest thrust movement or oblique lateral slip movement.
Fig. 3 Basement Structure Depth map licences Lincoln P.1368 South and Warwick P.2294 (Hurricane)
BRV mapping (Hurricane)
These compartments are evident on the Hurricane 2018 Bulk Rock Volume map above the minimum OWC of 2109 mSS as shown below. The height of the basement filled with oil can be as much as 450 meters.
The early 2019 drilling programme will answer the connectivity of this possible giant oil field. The well testing and down-hole pressure gauge monitoring will answer the dynamic response of the fractured basement in each compartment.
Fig. 4 Greater Warwick Area, BRV and Basement structure Depth map (Hurricane)
Seismic mapping
The present day seismic data coverage, as is released in Hurricane presentations and in Company CPR’S, across GWA is from the pre Broadband era of acquisition and processing.
Fig. 5 Greater Warwick Area, NW-SE seismic section (Hurricane)
Unlocking 2C resources in the poorly explored on-lapping syn-rift and post rift sequences is at a very early stage of exploration. The maturation of this exploration area is now calling out to the Seismic Acquisition industry to shoot and process Broadband 3D to help operator Hurricane and funded by Spirit to further unlock additional resources in the GWA.
Company Press Releases:
1 Spirit Energy to invest in discovery west of Shetland
https://www.centrica.com/news/spirit-energy-invest-discovery-west-shetland
2 Hurricane, Spirit Energy Farm-in to Greater Warwick Area
List of figures
Fig. 1 Greater Warwick Area and 3 Well programme (Hurricane)
Fig. 2 Greater Warwick (GWA) – schematic of proposed well locations (Hurricane)
Fig. 3 Basement Structure Depth map – Lincoln P.1368 South and Warwick P.2294 (Hurricane)
Fig. 4 Greater Warwick Area, BRV and Basement structure Depth map (Hurricane)
Fig. 5 Greater Warwick Area, NW-SE seismic section (Hurricane)