Phoenix Global confirms initial crude production from wells at Mata Mora

Upstream oil and gas company Phoenix Global Resources announced initial crude oil production from its first horizontal multi-fractured wells at the Mata Mora concession in the Neuquén province of Argentina on Thursday.

The AIM-traded firm said that during July, a total of 34,273 barrels of Mata Mora light crude with anAPI gravity of 36 degrees, representing the initial test volumes, was produced from the two Mata Mora lateral wells.

Both Mata Mora wells were drilled earlier in the year, and were unconventionally completed in the La Cocina horizon of the Vaca Muerta formation in June.

The company said the wells were drilled from a single pad, at a spacing of approximately 250 metres, with each well having a lateral section of more than 2,000 metres.

It explained that the wells were successfully geo-steered, with more than 90% of each lateral maintained within a seven metre window in the Vaca Muerta formation.

The wells were simultaneously completed using a high-intensity zipper-fracturing design, which the board said was specifically selected based on learnings from Vaca Muerta lateral wells drilled by other operators in nearby offset locations.

In testing to date, each Mata Mora well had seen production rates of around 1,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, with reservoir pressure in excess of 9,900 pounds per square inch.

Crude production from both wells was continuing to ramp up, as oil displaced water during the ongoing flowback process.

Phoenix said the two wells satisfied its initial licence commitment for the concession.

It explained that it was in the process of evaluating the results of the wells as flowback continued as part of an extended well test, adding that it expected to be able to announce the results in the fourth quarter.

At the end of testing, the firm said it would apply to Neuquén province for an unconventional exploitation licence in respect of the Mata Mora block, which would include a commitment for a pilot development programme for Mata Mora.

Phoenix described Mata Mora as a concession area covering 55,000 acres in the South Neuquina Basin in Argentina.

It held a 90% operated working interest in the concession, with the remaining 10% held by Gas y Petróleo del Neuquén, the Neuquén province-owned oil and gas company.

“The results of our first two long lateral wells completed in the Mata Mora are encouraging in terms of the development potential of the block,” said chief operating officer Javier Vallesi.

“The wells remain in an early stage of the flowback process with circa 8% of the frac water recovered to date.”

Vallesi said the flowback phase had been extended to obtain additional well performance data, and to allow further optimisation of the wells.

“We expect to be able to update the market in relation to the calculated initial production rates and performance against planned type curves during the fourth quarter.”