Afren has disclosed a “potentially transformational” discovery at its Simrit-2 exploration well in Kurdistan.
In a company statement, the London-listed explorer said it had found a “significant oil accumulation” in the Ain Sifni PSC area.
Preliminary data analysis of 3,700 metres of drilling, wireline logs and sidewall core sampling showed the well had hit an estimated 409 metres of net oil pay in three reservoirs, of which around 312 metres of these contained light oil, with no oil water contact found in any of the Cretaceous, Jurassic and Triassic age reservoirs.
In light of the findings and continuing strong hydrocarbon shows, the companies planned to test more zones by further drilling the well from its current true vertical depth of 3697 metres to about 3800 metres.
Afren said it will drill for a further hundred metres to test for further resources, after which it will move to a well-testing programme at Simrit-2.
“The scale of the oil column that has been intersected suggests that the Simrit structure and surrounding prospects elsewhere on the Ain Sifni PSC have the potential to be transformational for Afren,” said Afren CEO Osman Shahenshah.
Afren holds a 20% stake in the Ain Sifni PSC, with Hunt Oil holding the operatorship with a 60% stake and the rump 20% held by the Kurdish regional government.
