Charlie-1 appraisal well drilling progresses towards spudding

Exploration company 88 Energy has updated that the upcoming drilling of the Charlie-1 appraisal well at Project Icewine, located on the Central North Slope, US, is ‘progressing to plan’ with spudding expected soon.

The Alaska-focused explorer said that ice road construction is currently underway and its base layer is currently at 25%.

The company has also submitted a permit to drill and hopes to receive approval this month.

According to 88 Energy, a more accurate forecast for the anticipated February spud, along with the timing for drilling, logging, and testing, will be communicated shortly.

88 Energy managing director Dave Wall said: “The New Year is off to a busy start for the Alaska Operations team with all activity progressing as planned.”

Initial cash call funds have been paid into the joint venture (JV) account, the company said.

Under a farm-out agreement finalised last November, partner Premier Oil is to pay up to $23bn of Charlie’s well costs.

The Charlie-1 well aims to appraise the undeveloped Malguk discovery, made by BP Alaska in the early 1990s.

In 2018, 88 Energy also completed the acquisition of modern 3D seismic in a bid to determine the extent of the oil accumulations that have been discovered.

Charlie-1 will intersect seven stacked prospects, four of which are interpreted as oil-bearing in Malguk‑1 and therefore considered appraisal targets.

The pre-drilling values of the project are estimated to have 1.6 billion barrels of prospective resources, which would be the equivalent of 480 net million barrels for 88 Energy.

In April 2017, 88 Energy received permission to drill the Icewine#2 well at Project Icewine. The company received the drilling approval from Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (AOGCC).