Petromanas to conduct flow test at Shpirag-2 well in Albania

Canada-based oil and gas company Petromanas Energy has announced that it has taken additional steps to reduce instability in the lower flysch shale zone above the target carbonate reservoir in the Shpirag-2 well in Albania.

The steps have helped the company to improve hole stability of the well and allowed it to reach a depth of 5,275m in the upper carbonate zone.

Petromanas experienced additional hole instability in the well when the bit became stuck.

During drilling and before loss of circulation, the company traced out the presence of oil and gas in the drilling cuttings from the upper carbonate.

The company has so far sidetracked the well at a depth of about 4,810m.

Once the well re-enters the upper carbonate section, the company is planning to set casing from the previous casing depth of about 4,750m, in order to keep the lower zone of unstable flysch shale behind pipe.

The company plans to log, complete and flow test the Shpirag-2 well, when it reaches the total depth.

Petromanas CEO Glenn McNamara said the well has indicated the presence of hydrocarbons, but still faces challenges due to the complex and active geology of the region, which continues to create instability in the open portion of the hole.

"While our preference was to drill through the carbonate with a larger hole, we feel it is prudent at this point to put the entire flysch shale zone behind casing so that we can avoid further instability above the target and focus on penetrating the carbonate zone to a sufficient depth to complete a better assessment of its potential," McNamara added.

Petromanas has completed the planning and logistics preparation for the Shpirag-2 well, as well as also having finalised the test operations of the well.

The total cost of the drilling is expected to be about $53m or $14m net to Petromanas, while the total costs to drill the well to the target depth of 5,800m-6,000m will be nearly $67m gross.