Latin America-focused GeoPark Ltd. and partner Wintershall Energía have struck oil pay in Argentina’s Neuquen Basin.
Drilled to a total depth of 1,676 m (5,500 ft), the GeoPark-operated Rio Grande Oeste 1 exploration well identified 15 potential reservoir sands with a potential net pay of 122 m (400 ft), GeoPark said in an Aug. 10 news release. Although testing is still ongoing, preliminary logging data suggest hydrocarbons in the upper, middle and lower zones.
“To date, GeoPark has carried out production tests in four reservoir sands, with early results showing a production rate by natural flow of approximately 300 bbl/d of 28 degrees API with a 7% water cut,” the company said in the release. “Additional testing and production history will be required to determine stabilized flow rates of the well.”
The well was drilled in Argentina’s of 117,000-acre CN-V Block, where GeoPark acquired an interest through a partnership with Wintershall in 2015. GeoPark said the discovery derisks other light oil prospects on the block, and further upside could exist in the developing Vaca Muerta unconventional play.
GeoPark CEO James Park said Argentina “represents a highly attractive underexplored and underdeveloped hydrocarbon region with multiple new project opportunities.”
GeoPark and Wintershall, a subsidiary of BASF, are also devising a development plan for the Rio Grande Oeste oil field, the release said. Each company has a 50% working interest in the block, which is located in the Mendoza Province.
In all, GeoPark said it plans to spend between $5 million and $7 million for its seven-well 2017 work program as it targets oil prospects, including in the Sierra del Nevado and Puelen blocks it is exploring with Pluspetrol and YPF. Both blocks are also located in the Neuquen Basin. The YPF-operated Sierra del Nevado is in the Llancanelo oil field, and the Pluspetrol-operated Puelen Block is in the El Corcobo oil field.
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