By Elias Hazou
DESPITE a minor hiccup US-based Noble Energy yesterday began running a natural gas production test at the Aphrodite-2 well in its Block 12 concession
The drill stem test (DST), as it is known, is a simulated production yielding key data on the well, such as the pressure and flow of the gas and the fuel content.
Using this data, a mathematical model is then applied to extrapolate the quantity of fuel lying within a prospect.
As part of the DST, Noble was also set to ‘flare’, or light up, the well. Flaring gives clues to the content of the natural gas in the seabed.
The tests are being carried out on the Ensco 5006 drilling platform under lease by Noble.
Due to a mechanical glitch with the valves, flaring the gas was not possible yesterday. Flaring will be postponed for a few days until crews straighten out the hitch.
Earlier in the day, energy minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis told the state broadcaster the production test – including flaring – would last approximately a week, after which the well will be sealed.
Data gathered would then by analysed at Noble’s labs in Houston.
Sources told the Cyprus Mail the US company would be announcing preliminary analysis results likely by the end of the month. Assessing the actual quantities of gas at the prospect takes longer – around three months.
The Aphrodite prospect in offshore Block 12 is estimated to hold anywhere from 5 to 8 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas. Officials have said that 6 tcf is sufficient to make the prospect economically viable for LNG exports.
The production test at the A-2 well is an appraisal drilling to confirm those estimates. Should the results prove inconclusive, the drilling of a second appraisal well might be necessary.
The findings – as well as their timing – would determine the planning of the government and Noble, the energy minister said.
As it stands, the roadmap for exports of LNG is late 2019 or early 2020. However, a second appraisal well could delay the timetable by another six months, according to officials.
Charles Ellinas, chairman of the Cyprus National Hydrocarbons Company (CNHC), said that initial indications on the quality of the gas were very good. The gas analysed during exploratory drilling in 2011 revealed that the gas had a 98 per cent methane content, and 2 per cent water and condensates.
Noble Energy operates Block 12 with a 70 per cent working interest. Its partners Delek Drilling Limited Partnership and Avner Oil Exploration Limited Partnership each own 15 per cent.
The estimated budget for the production test is approximately $64m (€48m).
Some 60 million cubic feet of gas will be extracted daily during the current trial run, according to Israel’s Delek.
Once the project goes commercial, Noble reportedly hopes to produce around 1 billion cubic feet per day.
Up to a dozen wells would be drilled for commercial production.
