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Byron Energy (ASX:BYE) identifies hydrocarbons at South Marsh Island platform

ASX News, Energy
ASX:BYE      MCAP $64.72M
16 May 2022 14:00 (AEST)

Byron Energy’s operation in the Gulf of Mexico. Source: Byron Energy

Byron Energy (BYE) has identified hydrocarbons at its G3 Well in the South Marsh Island 58 G platform located offshore of Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico.

In February, the company told investors of its intentions to begin its two-well drilling program at the platform, and last month drilling officially began.

Now, both wells have been drilled to the respective surface casing depths with casing run and cemented.

Real time logging while drilling of the G3 well, drilling the Rainbow Trout prospect, identified hydrocarbons that the company expects is most likely oil in both the primary J Sand interval and the secondary K4/B65 Sand (K4) interval.

The primary target J Sand logged 27 feet true vertical thickness (TVT) net pay which is lower than the 50 feet TVT net pay predicted by Byron’s third-party reserve estimator, Collarini Associates, as a basis for these reserves.

While thinner than predicted, Byron said the J Sand is high-quality, and production rates are estimated to fall in the range of 500 to 750 barrels of oil per day (bopd) depending on reservoir drawdown across the perforations.

Moving forward, the company said long term stability of the initial rate is set to depend on the ultimate strength of the aquifer support.

Byron will complete the J Sand using modern frac pack sand control techniques.

The K4 sand logged 31 feet of TVT net pay, also lower than the predicted 41 feet of TVT net pay used in Collarini’s ascribed gross pre-drill prospective resource estimate of 657,000 barrels of oil.

However, since the resource work was completed, the company said it has done further regional work on the K4 and identified an intersection in a down-dip historical well as the K4 sand, which has extended the K4 hydrocarbon accumulation area further down-dip.

Byron’s engineers have modelled preliminary rates analysis and have determined the most likely initial production rate for the K4 will be in the range of 400 to 500 bopd.

The K4 sand will also be completed using modern frac pack sand control measures.

The drilling rig is now moving over to the G5 well which will be drilled prior to completion of G3, giving BYE several weeks to develop a final completion plan.

Byron will include the results from both G3 and G5 in its June 30, 2022, reserves report, expected to be released in late August or early September.

Moving forward, the company is also progressing its plan to execute a drilling contract for two additional wells, plus an optional third well around the end of 2022.

Company shares were steady, trading at 16.5 cents at 1:59 pm AEST.

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