88 Energy to begin Hickory-1 flow test within days, targeting 647 million BOE
() , an Alaska-focused hydrocarbon explorer, updated markets on its upcoming flow testing programme at the Hickory-1 well, part of 88 Energy's flagship Project Phoenix on Alaska's North Slope.
88 Energy said Hickory-1's flow test was imminent. Construction of the well's ice pad has been completed, camps have been mobilised to location, and All American Oilfield's Rig 111 has been commissioned for the test. Final preparations, including completion of the rig's mobilisation and remaining services to the Hickory-1 location, are expected to be completed within the next 7-10 days.
Once these preparations are in place, investors should expect a final update on commencement of the flow test. Operations will start with retrieval of the kill string in the well, followed by drill out of plugs, clean-up of the wellbore, and change-out to completion fluid ahead of perforation of the first zone.
Separately, 88 Energy said its joint venture partner on the project Burgundy Xploration has secured funding from professional oil and gas investors and has remitted payment of its outstanding US$1.75m 2023 cash call balance. Additionally, Burgundy has advised that it is committed to its share of the flow test AFE cost.
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More good news from Project Phoenix as 88 Energy readies Hickory-1 for flow testing, expected within the next 1-2 weeks once AAO's Rig 111 has been fully mobilised. The test aims to assess 647 million barrels of prospective oil resources.
The main test targets will be the Slope Fan System (SFS) and Shelf Margin Deltaic (SMD) (see map below). Each zone will be tested separately, planned to take approx. 10 days each. previously extended the scope of the upper SFS, showing the reservoir to be more extensive than originally mapped, correlating over 7km to strong shows in the Icewine-1 well.
Hickory-1 is a vertical well, designed to provide information critical to development planning, such as reservoir deliverability, fluid compositions, pressures and connectivity. The well will be used for testing only. For production, horizontal wells are planned, modeled to deliver 6-12 times greater flow rates than vertical wells can.
88 Energy is optimistic about flow test results from Hickory-1, as its northern neighbor on Alaska's North Slope, Pantheon Resources, recently announced a significant, third party estimated 2C contingent resource for the Lower Basin Floor Fan reservoir - one of the deepest hydrocarbon-bearing pay zones intersected by Hickory-1. 88 Energy plans to flow test this reservoir as well.
Today's announcement also confirmed that 88 Energy's JV partner Burgundy is caught up with payments following difficulties last year, and fully committed to financing its share of Project Phoenix's expenses. Combined with 88 Energy's November £5.3m fundraise, the company is fully funded to develop Project Phoenix and its other projects in Alaska, Texas, and Namibia.
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