Dana Petroleum has made a significant gas discovery with its first exploration well in Egypt.

The WEB-1X well is the first drilled by the Dana Petroleum and Gaz de France partnership at the West El Burullus (WEB) production sharing contract area within the prolific Nile Delta region, in the Mediterranean Sea offshore Egypt.

Dana holds a 50% interest in the discovery and licence area, which contains numerous additional prospects at both shallow and deeper horizons. Gaz de France also owns a 50% stake and operates on behalf of the group.

The WEB-1X well was drilled to 2403 metres true vertical depth, targeting a Pliocene prospect consisting of a turbidite sandstone channel system. The well encountered good quality gas bearing sands and an extensive set of wireline logs were run to maximise the reservoir data acquired on this important discovery.

The partners have now successfully completed a comprehensive multi-flowrate drill-stem test of the reservoir sequence, which flowed at rates of up to approximately 27 million standard cubic feet of gas per day. The well flowed very strongly with high downhole pressures. This well would be capable of delivering much higher gas flowrates in normal production mode than was seen during the drill-stem test, because the test flowrates were severely limited by the temporary well completion and test equipment used on the jack-up drilling rig.

The acquired data will now be analysed and an appraisal program defined. This discovery reinforces the attractiveness of the other similar prospects identified by Gaz de France and Dana within the WEB exploration and production licence. In addition, other exploration targets within deeper horizons, such as the Miocene and Oligocene, will be considered.

The WEB-1X well is being suspended for potential re-entry and future use as a gas production well.

Tom Cross, Dana’s Chief Executive Officer said, "This is an excellent result for Dana, following the Company’s recent two oil fields discovered at West Rinnes and East Rinnes in the UK North Sea. The WEB-1X flow test results are very encouraging. Making a discovery with our first well highlights the outstanding exploration potential of West El Burullus and significantly increases the likelihood of success for additional prospects which are being identified. We would like to express our thanks to Gaz de France for a superb operational performance in drilling and testing the well and we look forward to working together to further explore and develop this exciting new area.”

Tags: Dana Petroleum, Gaz de France