ReconAfrica targets October well test
ReconAfrica is preparing to begin a 1 000-metre horizontal production test at its Kavango West 1X discovery in Namibia in October, after the well flowed natural gas and potential liquids to the surface.
The company expects specialised equipment required for the next phase of work to arrive from the United States during September, allowing it to move towards a horizontal test that could provide a clearer indication of the production potential of the Huttenberg formation.
ReconAfrica chief executive Brian Reinsborough said the company expected the equipment to be on site in September and was targeting October to begin the test.
“We’re going to have all the equipment on site in September and hopefully start testing this October,” Reinsborough said in an interview with Proactive published on 25 August.
The programme follows production testing of the vertical Kavango West 1X well, where ReconAfrica tested about 182 metres of the Huttenberg formation and identified 76 metres of pay.
Gas flowed before stimulation
Reinsborough said natural gas flowed to the surface from the uppermost Huttenberg zone before acid stimulation.
The company regards the flow as an indication that the reservoir was capable of producing hydrocarbons without initially requiring stimulation.
“The gas flowed to surface. That’s a really good sign. That means the reservoir really did not need any coaxing to produce to surface,” he said.
The results follow earlier testing of the deeper Otavi formation, where ReconAfrica also flowed natural gas to the surface and recorded a build-up in reservoir pressure.
The company interpreted the pressure response as evidence of reservoir recharge.
ReconAfrica operates petroleum exploration licence (PEL) 73 in partnership with BW Energy and the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia. It is now moving beyond the vertical testing programme to determine whether a substantially larger section of the Huttenberg reservoir can be exposed to the wellbore.
Reinsborough said the company plans to begin the horizontal section at about 2 700 metres and drill laterally for up to 1 000 metres.
The approach is intended to increase exposure to naturally occurring fractures within the reservoir, rather than relying on the more limited reservoir contact provided by a vertical well.
