Sinopec secures drilling contract with Petro Matad

Sinopec International Petroleum Service Mongolia has signed a contract to implement the drilling programme for Petro Matad's planned Snow Leopard and Wild Horse exploration wells.

As part of the programme, initial targets have been selected for drilling.

Petro Matad CEO Ridvan Karpuz said: "I am very pleased to have executed the rig contract, which is a significant milestone as we head toward exploratory drilling later this year. 

“With the signature of the agreement with Sinopec, the company is now poised to deliver on its commitment to undertake a high-impact exploration drilling programme this year."

Under the contract, Sinopec will drill an exploration well on the Irves (Snow Leopard) prospect in the Taats Basin of Block V in September this year.

The well is to be drilled to a total depth of 3150m and will have an expected duration of 50 days.

Comprising a series of tilted fault blocks with multiple stacked reservoir targets, the Irves prospect has projected reserves of 160 million barrels of oil-in-place and an upside of 350 million barrels of oil-in-place.  

Irves-1 is claimed to be the first deep exploration well drilled in Central Mongolia to examine the hydrocarbon resource potential of the Early Cretaceous 'syn-rift' play.

Upon completion of the Irves-1 well, the rig will be moved to the Takhi (Wild Horse) prospect within the Baatsagaan Basin of Block IV.

Projected as a shallower exploration well, Takhi-1 has a total depth of 1,850m and an expected duration of around 20 days.

Through the drilling of the well, Petro Matad is targeting 280 million barrels of oil-in-place, with an upside case exceeding 650 million barrels of oil in place at the Takhi prospect, which comprises a large faulted anticline with several stacked reservoir objectives.