SDX Energy spuds new exploration well in Egypt

SDX Energy, the North Africa-focused on and gas company, said it has spud its Ibn Yunus-1X exploration well at South Disouq, Egypt.

The Ibn Yunus-1X well, anticipated to take approximately 30 days to drill, will be targeting the same conventional natural gas bearing Abu Madi intervals discovered in the SD-1X well in April 2017, the company said in a statement.

This is the first of a planned four-well program on the South Disouq concession.

The Ibn Yunus-1X well will be followed by two appraisal wells (SD-4X and 3X) in the original SD-1X structure which, if successful, will be used as producers - completing the base case development plan for the new field.

“The success of the SD-1X well proved the existence of source rock in this area which was our biggest uncertainty pre-drill,” said Paul Welch, president and CEO of SDX. “The technical work that’s been completed by our team after the first successful well has provided us with additional confidence in our ability to identify conventional natural gas bearing intervals within the 3D seismic data set.”

“We currently have over 300 km2 of 3D seismic in the block with identified potential of up to 2 trillion cubic feet (gross) of conventional natural gas. Success at Ibn Yunus will de-risk a large portion of that volume which would be very significant for our shareholders,” he added.

The company, in its technically approved development plan by the Egyptian authority, forecasts a plateau rate from the SD-1X field of 50 million standard cubic feet per day ("MMscf/d") of conventional natural gas (SDX 55 per cent working interest).

However, with any exploration success, the field plateau rate could potentially increase up to 100 MMscf/d, SDX Energy said.

Start-up of production at South Disouq is expected to commence in H2 2018, the company said, adding that the final well in the program, Kelvin-1X, will be an exploration well which, if successful, would be tied into the facilities located at the SD-1X field.

The Kelvin-1X exploration well is targeting the same package of sands found to be productive at the SD-1X location but in a geologic structure up-dip of SD-1X, thereby reducing the level of risk and uncertainty when compared to a conventional exploration well, it said.