AusTex Oil begins drilling Mississippi Lime prospect

AusTex Oil (AOK) has commenced drilling operations at the Balder #1-30N horizontal development well located in Northern Oklahoma, US.

The project, targeting the emerging Mississippi Lime formation in the Snake River Project in Kay County, is expected to be drilled to 9,600ft.

The well is being drilled on a 320 acre site and is located directly west of AOK’s recently commissioned Mississippi Lime producing wells.

Drilling is set to cost $3.1m and will to take up to 21 days to complete.

AusTex Oil has a 12.25% working interest in Balder #1-30N, while a subsidiary of Range Resources Corporation, Range Production Company is the operator and holds the remaining working interest.

Range Resources Corporation already holds interests in 125,000 acres of oil and gas leases within the defined Mississippi Lime play and has drilled eight horizontal wells in the area.

AusTex Oil intends to drill a mix of vertical and horizontal wells over the next 18 months and has drilled two wells out of a planned 10 vertical wells to delineate the reservoir beneath its current acreage till date.

The company said the results of these vertical wells will help finalise plans to drill about four horizontal wells this year as it plans to increase oil production in the short-term through its drilling activities in both Kansas and Oklahoma.