Offshore staff
DALLAS – Beacon Offshore Energy has completed drilling the Winterfell-2 appraisal well on Green Canyon block 943 in the US Gulf of Mexico, according to partner Kosmos Energy.
The Winterfell-2 well was drilled to evaluate the adjacent fault block to the northwest of the original Winterfell discovery. It was designed to test two horizons that were oil bearing in the Winterfell-1 well, with an exploration tail into a deeper horizon.
The well discovered about 40 m (~120 ft) of net oil pay in the first and second horizons with better oil saturation and porosity than pre-drill expectations. The exploration tail has discovered an additional oil-bearing horizon in a deeper reservoir which is also prospective in the blocks immediately to the north. The results of this appraisal well further define the resource potential in the central Winterfell area, with the current estimate around 100 MMbbl gross, Kosmos said.
The Winterfell-2 well was drilled in about 1,600 m (~5,800 ft) of water and to a total depth of approximately 8,700 m (~28,500 ft). An affiliate of Beacon Offshore Energy LLC is operator of the Winterfell-2 well. Additional interest owners include Red Willow Offshore LLC, Ridgewood Monarch North LLC, CSL Exploration, LP, CL&F Offshore LLC, Houston Energy, L.P., Beacon Offshore Energy Exploration LLC, and Beacon Asset Holdings LLC.
Andrew G. Inglis, Kosmos Energy’s chairman and CEO, said: “The positive result from Winterfell-2 appraisal well demonstrates the greater potential in the Winterfell area. The well results are encouraging and provide the support needed to advance a low-cost, lower-carbon development scheme that could be brought online in around two years.”
In addition, Kosmos has farmed down an interest in the two blocks immediately to the north of the Winterfell discovery to the owners of the central Winterfell discovery in exchange for cash consideration and the retention of an overriding royalty interest. The company said this aligns the partnership and provides the ability to further scale the development with low-risk follow-on drilling. Kosmos will retain a 35% working interest in the two blocks.
The Winterfell complex is located within tieback distance to several existing and planned host facilities, and the partnership is working to define the development plan.
01/18/2022
