The Kitaro-1 well in Colombia encountered prospective oil pay in the Mirador and Une formations after being drilled to a depth of  3,292 m (10,800 ft). The well was completed in the Une formation and commenced production June 28 at a rate of approximately 1,500 barrels per day (b/d) of 32° API light oil.

Parex Resources Inc. provided an update on the company's operations.

In April, the Las Maracas-2ST well commenced production at a rate of approximately 1,000 b/d of 37° API oil from the Mirador formation. The well was spud June 28 to evaluate the Une, Gacheta and Mirador formations. This well is currently drilling through 2,438 m (8,000 ft) and is expected to reach its target depth in July.

The Malawi-1 well, south of the Sulawesi field, was spud on May 1, drilled to a target depth of approximately 4,014 m (13,170 ft) and was rig released June 3. The well was completed in the C7 formation and has been on production at a rate in excess of 1,000 b/d of 30° API oil since June 17. Future production performance of this well will largely determine if any appraisal wells will be drilled on the Malawi structure.

The Cumbre-3 well was spud May 11, was drilled to a target depth of approximately 2,941 m (9,650 ft) and was rig released May 30. The well encountered prospective oil pay in the C7 and Gacheta formations and was completed in the Gacheta formation. The well began production on June 28 at an average rate of 700 b/d of 36° API oil with a 50% water cut.

The Tua-1 well was spud on May 6, was drilled to a target depth of approximately 3,353 m (11,000 ft) and was rig released on June 10. The well encountered potential pay in the Gaudalupe and Mirador formations.

The Guadalupe formation was perforated over a 6-m (19-ft) interval and was flow tested over a period of 11 hours under natural flowing conditions. A total of 169 barrels of 12.8° API oil was recovered during the test at a final measured rate of approximately 400 b/d with a 1% water cut. Bottom-hole pressure recorders indicated the producing drawdown during the test was approximately 12%. The Guadalupe formation was temporarily suspended to allow testing of the Mirador formation.

The Mirador formation was perforated over a 7-m (24-ft) interval and tested with a pump. After 53 hours of testing a total of 2,118 barrels of 19.4° API oil was recovered with a final water cut of 0.5%. The maximum rate achieved during the test was 1,915 b/d and an average rate of 1,700 b/d was achieved during the final 13 hours of the test at the final pump speed setting. The Mirador formation will be placed on long term test and the partners in the Tua-1 well are evaluating delineation options for both the Mirador and Gaudalupe formations.

The Max-1 prospect was drilled and cased during the first quarter of 2012 and prospective pay was encountered in the Gacheta, Gaudalupe A, Gaudalupe B and Mirador formations. The well was completed and tested in all zones to determine flow capability and oil gravity.

The Gacheta formation was perforated in two separate intervals totaling 7 m (23 ft) and tested under natural flowing conditions for a period of 37 hours. A total of 279 barrels of 35° API oil was recovered during the test for an average daily production rate of 181 b/d. The final water cut was less than 1% and bottom-hole pressure recorders indicated a bottom-hole drawdown of 35 percent during the test.

The Gaudalupe B formation was perforated over a 8-m (25-ft) interval and the well was swabbed. A fluid sample of 12° API oil was recovered from the well and the zone was temporarily suspended to allow for testing of the zone with a pump at the end of completion operations. Swabbing operations are not an effective method to evaluate productivity in heavy oil zones due to the difficulties swabbing oil with higher viscosity. The Gaudalupe A zone was perforated over a 10-m (34-ft) interval and 14.5° API oil was recovered during limited swabbing operations. As in the case of the Gaudalupe B zone, the zone was temporarily suspended to allow testing of the zone with a pump at the end of completion operations.

The Mirador formation was perforated over a (26-ft) interval and was tested with a jet pump over a 26 -hour period. A total of 148 barrels of 22° API oil was recovered during the test along with 470 barrels of water. The final measured water-cut was 85%. The Mirador formation will be suspended to allow testing of the Gaudalupe A and B formations with the use a pump which is expected to commence in the next week.