AUSTRALIA-based Nido Petroleum Ltd. and Kairiki Energy Ltd. said the Service Contract 54 oil field, or the Yakal-1, in offshore Palawan is being prepared for a scheduled well testing in the next few weeks.

In a progress report posted in Nido’s web site, the exploration company said a minimum oil column of 78 meters and up to a maximum of 93 meters had been confirmed with wireline logging and a seven -inch liner was being installed.

Nido said the seven-inch liner was installed to secure the Yakal-1 well for possible future utilization for extended well testing and production.

Nido said the Yakal-1 has been capped and prepared for completion as a production well for extended well testing at a later date.

Nido earlier reported a comprehensive wireline logging program has been completed across the Nido formation supported by both pressure data and samples.

Nido added that clear upper and lower limits to the base of the oil column have been established.

Nido said then the oil column has been confirmed to a minimum of 78 meters high with a possible maximum oil-column height of 93 meters.

Jose Emmanuel de Dios, Nido chief executive officer, said the Yakal-1 is the first oil discovery to be made in the Philippines in the last 14 years—a momentous milestone for both the country and his company.

While there is still another exploration well to drill in this campaign, de Dios said, this early success supports Nido’s strategic decision to focus its efforts and investments in the Northwest Palawan Basin.

He added that it also supports Nido’s decision to speed up its shallow water strategy and at the same time its deepwater exploration portfolio.

Joanne Williams, Nido deputy managing director, said the Yakal-1 discovery is an important first step in realizing the joint venture’s strategy to rapidly commercialize the SC54 inboard area.

For the Yakal-1 and Tindalo-1, the next wells on the schedule, according to Williams, there are in excess of 20 additional prospects in the SC54 inboard area covered by 3D seismic data.

She added that with future drilling success and the application of pragmatic, low-cost development methodologies, there is the opportunity to aggregate several discoveries into a single production facility, to optimize value.

The work program in the coming months will review all the data gathered during the drilling program to evaluate the reservoir quality and oil-in-place resource estimates.

Following the suspension of the Yakal-1 well for future reentry, the WilBoss jack-up drilling rig will mobilize to the Tindalo-1 well location, approximately 5.5 kilometers to the northeast of Yakal-1, for the second well in the SC54 drilling campaign.

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AUSTRALIA-based Nido Petroleum Ltd. and Kairiki Energy Ltd. said the Service Contract 54 oil field, or the Yakal-1, in offshore Palawan is being prepared for a scheduled well testing in the next few weeks.

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AUSTRALIA-based Nido Petroleum Ltd. and Kairiki Energy Ltd. said the Service Contract 54 oil field, or the Yakal-1, in offshore Palawan is being prepared for a scheduled well testing in the next few weeks.

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