With ‘abundance of gas pay’ uncovered, two more Black Sea wells coming online in March

Canada’s oil and gas player Trillion Energy has drilled another well in its 2022 – 2023 drilling campaign on a natural gas field in the Black Sea off Türkiye. As the well identified numerous potential gas zones, the firm plans to bring it on stream together with another well by the end of the month.

Trillion Energy revealed the preliminary gas indications from the West Akçakoca-1 well, the fourth well in its multi-well drilling programme at the SASB gas field on Tuesday, 14 March 2023. The Candian player claims that West Akçakoca-1 reached 3,839 metres of total measured depth (TMD) and true vertical depth (TVD) of 1,677 meters on 10 March 2023.

According to Trillion, “an abundance of gas pay” was discovered during the drilling of the well and the firm’s analysis of logging while drilling (LWD) data suggests 55 metres of potential natural gas pay within 6 sands in the Akçakoca member (SASB production zone).

Furthermore, the logging while drilling data is consistent with the initial mud show results and the 7” production casing will be run in and cemented this week. Trillion confirms that the initial perforation intervals are currently being selected to bring the well into production, thus, completion and flow testing will occur once the well is perforated, with revenue being generated prior to the end of the month.

Following completion of the West Akçakoca-1 well, the Uranus rig will be skidded back to the Guluc-2 well for completion. This well is also scheduled to be put into production by the end of March.

Arthur Halleran, CEO of Trillion, remarked: “That is 4 for 4 success at SASB, as Trillion successfully executes its gas development programme at SASB. We eagerly await the gas flow rates and plan to put the wells into production end of this month.

“As South Akçakoca-2, Guluc-2 and West Akçakoca-1 wells targeted resource prospects, not reserves, Trillion has significantly increased the proved reserves through the drilling programme to date. We expect to release our updated reserve report by the end of the month.”

As a reminder, upon the arrival of the Uranus jack-up rig, which was hired in May 2022, Trillion spudded its first well, South Akçakoca-2, in the drilling campaign on the SASB natural gas field in September 2022. After identifying numerous potential gas zones on logging and the disclosure of the flow test results in November 2022, the Canadian player started the recompletion work on the second well – Akçakoca-3 – in its drilling programme. 

Once the well came on stream, the company announced the well’s flow test results. Afterwards, the Uranus rig was repositioned to drill the firm’s third and fourth wells at the SASB shallow-water conventional gas field and Trillion explained that the West Akçakoca-1 and Guluc-2 wells would be spudded a few weeks apart and completed in sequence.

When December 2022 came, the company spudded the Guluc-2 well, after completing the West Akçakoca-1 17 ½” diameter section to 1,008 metres depth. After the Guluc-2 well reached 3,910 metres total measured depth (TMD) and true vertical debt (TVD) of 1,623 metres, completion and flow testing was anticipated over the following weekend.

However, completion of the Guluc-2 well was delayed, as massive earthquakes, which hit Türkiye and Syria, caused shipping issues, delaying the delivery of well tools to allow the perforation guns to be properly conveyed and positioned into the well. As a result, the Uranus rig was skidded to the West Akçakoca-1 well to avoid the rig standing idle waiting for tools. 

After the completion of the wells at the Akçakoca platform, the Uranus rig will move to the East Ayazli tripod at the SASB field. Trillion plans to add three sidetrack wells to the development programme for the SASB gas field, increasing the total number of wells for this Black Sea drilling campaign from 17 to 20.