Columbus, the oil and gas producer and explorer focused on onshore Trinidad and Suriname, is pleased to announce the following operational update:
· Completion of the interpretation of the Saffron cased hole logging, with the result supporting the completion and testing of the Saffron well in February 2020; and
· Submission of a Saffron Well Test application to the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries.
Leo Koot, Executive Chairman of Columbus, commented:
"The Company has now completed the interpretation of the cased hole logging for the Lower Cruse portion Saffron well. The interpretation for the Upper Cruse and Middle Cruse are expected shortly. The logging does not materially alter the Company's previous announcement that the Company has drilled multiple sand packages with high sandstone content and multiple oil shows to Total Depth ("TD"). The interpretation of the logging gives the Company comfort that it should proceed with the completion and testing of the well. Indeed, the only way to be certain and to evaluate the geological and economic potential of the prospective oil sands is to conduct a flow test - which can be done in relatively short order. We have submitted the well test proposal to the Ministry and, subject to Ministry approval, we would expect to commence the testing in February 2020. I am conscious that we would have liked more concrete results from the logging but the geology of the South West Peninsula and its effect on the tools available to us to log the Saffron well do not provide that level of certainty. The best way to evaluate Saffron is to complete and test the well, which we are in the course of doing."
Saffron Well Completion and Testing
The Company has now completed the interpretation of the cased hole logging for the Lower Cruse portion of the Saffron well.
The interpretation for the Upper Cruse and Middle Cruse (the tertiary and secondary targets) are expected shortly.
The Company is currently focussing on its primary target, the Lower Cruse as, per Ministry requirements, any testing and production must first be from the deepest possible stratigraphic level.
Cased hole logs for the Lower Cruse confirm the presence of sand in line with the cuttings descriptions and the cased hole sigma log response suggests the presence of hydrocarbons within those sands. The logs are not definitive as to the water/oil ratio within those sands and the Company believes that flow testing, rather than any further logging, is the best way of evaluating the geological and economic potential of the Lower Cruse.
The Company is targeting three (3) horizons for testing. The horizons lie between: (i) 4236 feet and 4244 feet; (ii) 3937 feet and 3947 feet; and (iii) 3760 feet and 3768 feet, respectively. The Company believes that each of these horizons are the tops of larger sand packages. The objective of these tests is to prove an oil filled reservoir. If this objective is met, the Company intends to perforate the larger sand packages to maximise water free production.
The Company has submitted to the Ministry a well test program to perforate and test the well. The Company expects this testing to occur, subject to Ministry approval, in February 2020.