TIDMPANR
RNS Number : 0816P
Pantheon Resources PLC
15 February 2021
15 February, 2021
Pantheon Resources plc
Talitha #A - Operations Update
Target depth reached - four distinct oil-bearing zones
identified
Moving to testing phase
Pantheon Resources plc ("Pantheon" or "the Company"), the
AIM-quoted oil and gas exploration company with a 100% working
interest (1) in a number of oil projects adjacent to transportation
and pipeline infrastructure on the
Alaska North Slope is pleased to provide the following update on the Talitha #A well.
Talitha #A update (100% working interest) (1)
The Talitha #A well has successfully reached target depth at
10,452 ft. The well has been logged and sidewall cores taken, which
have been sent to third party labs for assaying. The Company
cautions that all analysis is preliminary at this stage, and
testing is required before making any definitive assessments. Based
on preliminary analysis, the well has penetrated all objective
formations and encountered oil in each of them. Four distinct
oil-bearing zones have been identified described in more detail
below. The current plan is to test the Shelf Margin Deltaic
("SMD"), Basin Floor Fan (two separate zones) and the Kuparuk
zones. Testing all zones is critical to determine ultimate
commerciality.
1. Shelf Margin Deltaic
As predicted, Talitha #A encountered the SMD approximately 600
ft up dip from the zone as seen in the analogous Pipeline State #1
("PS#1") well, four miles to the east. The PS#1 well was not tested
when drilled in 1988 due to economic and other commercial factors
at the time, however based upon core analysis and mudlogging it is
believed that the SMD would likely be a commercial reservoir in
that well.
In Talitha #A, the gross oil bearing reservoir interval
encountered at 6,500 ft, was in line with predrill expectations for
thickness, featuring 155 ft of interbedded sand and shale, which is
positive, however does not indicate an improvement to that of the
PS#1 well.
2. Slope Fan
Lying immediately beneath the SMD zone is the Slope Fan system
at 7,830 ft to 8,050 ft. Talitha #A encountered interbedded, oil
bearing sands and shales that will be assessed in more detail with
the modern logs that have been obtained across this interval. The
Slope Fan was classified as a secondary target in this well due to
its suboptimal location on the structure, with the principal
objective being to gather data to assess the Slope Fan across the
Company's acreage. The Slope Fan at Talitha #A encountered oil
which has positive ramifications for the Company's broader acreage
position, however based upon preliminary analysis we do not plan to
test this zone at this location.
3. Basin Floor Fan
Talitha #A encountered multiple oil-bearing reservoir sand
successions throughout a 1,550 ft section from 8,100 ft to 9,650
ft. It was known that the Talitha #A well was not positioned
optimally for the Basin Floor Fan which, as mapped on seismic data,
continues up dip for several miles north west and has been the
basis of Pantheon's leasing activity over the last two State annual
lease sales. The encountered oil column thickness was larger, with
higher net to gross sand, than expected. This is potentially very
significant for the Basin Floor Fan, not only at Talitha, but also
at the Company's Theta West project.
The Company intends to test two distinct oil-bearing zones
within the Basin Floor Fan as outlined below:
(a) The Upper Basin Floor Fan
Talitha #A penetrated approximately 125 ft of high quality, oil
bearing reservoir section in the upper portion of the Basin Floor
Fan some 500 ft up dip from the analogous PS#1 well. Preliminary
analysis indicates this section has the potential to be significant
if testing is successful.
(b) The Lower Basin Floor Fan
The lower Basin Floor Fan sequence exceeded pre-drill
expectations, with higher net to gross than at the PS#1 well with
similar reservoir characteristics. The lower sequence is over 1,000
ft thick with interbedded, oil bearing reservoir sands and shales.
This zone as mapped on seismic data extends over more than 80,000
acres on Pantheon acreage and hence, if successful, its potential
is extremely large, extending updip into the Company's Theta West
project. There are now two wellbore penetrations through this
oil-bearing sequence in distal locations. The Company plans to test
a zone in this large Lower Basin Floor Fan with the aim of proving
producible oil at this downdip location.
4. Kuparuk
Talitha #A penetrated over 100 ft of Kuparuk approximately 400
ft updip from the PS#1 well at a depth of 10,050 ft. The top 55 ft
of this interval calculates as good reservoir quality, meeting
pre-drill estimates of thickening Kuparuk and improving reservoir
quality. This result expands the potential for the Kuparuk across
the Company's acreage both in the Talitha Unit and updip to the
west on acreage acquired at the January 2021 area wide lease sale.
Testing is the next step for the Kuparuk, which has the potential,
if successful, to be a significant oil field on its own.
(1) The transfer of the 10.8% WI acquired from Otto Energy
remains conditional upon approval by the Alaska Department of
Natural Resources.
Bob Rosenthal, Technical Director, stated: "We are very
encouraged with operations to date; it's definitely a case of 'so
far, so good'! We have penetrated all our objective formations and
encountered oil in each of them - this is a great result so far.
Drilling has gone smoothly and we have a borehole in good condition
which has allowed us to obtain valuable, high quality data to
formulate a testing program in all our zones of interest. As
always, we caution that testing is critical to establish the
commercial viability of the oil that appears present in the Talitha
structure. Preliminary analysis suggests that the well has multiple
horizons with potential to be commercial, but is not yet proven and
we remain cautiously optimistic. The Talitha #A location was
selected to test the primary SMD zone in the optimal location
whilst penetrating as many of the other secondary targets
acknowledging their respective suboptimal locations, and to test
whether they were oil bearing."
"Successfully recovering oil to surface from these zones will be
important in moving prospective resources (i.e. exploration) to
contingent resources (i.e. discovered) and confirming the potential
commerciality of major oil accumulations within the Talitha
structure. The discovery of significant quantities of oil in this
location would have very important ramifications for future
exploration in the area. Talitha is close to the Trans Alaska
Pipeline and Dalton Highway which significantly enhances the
economic value of any discovered oil."
Jay Cheatham, CEO, stated: "Our preliminary analysis suggests
that this is a great result for our Company. Although the
reserviour quality of the SMD did not improve from the PS#1 as we
had hoped, it still has the potential to be a very good result.
We'll test it and make a more detailed assessment at that point. We
were pleasantly surprised in the Basin Floor Fan and Kuparuk
formations. The Kuparuk Formation is a major regional producer in
the north legacy portion of the North Slope. If successful, the
extension of this prolific producer to the southern areas not only
opens up a potentially large oil accumulation for Pantheon but also
opportunities for the industry in general."
"We've often said that any one of the four zones at Talitha
could be Company makers, and we have three contenders in the SMD,
Basin Floor Fan and Kuparuk, all of which show great promise. As
always, we must wait until testing is completed before we can make
any definitive assessments, but at this time I would say Talitha #A
has met or exceeded our expectations thus far."
-Ends-
Further information:
Pantheon Resources plc +44 20 7484 5361
Jay Cheatham, CEO
Justin Hondris, Director, Finance and Corporate
Development
Canaccord Genuity plc (Nominated Adviser and
broker)
Henry Fitzgerald-O'Connor, James Asensio, Angelos
Vlatakis +44 20 7523 8000
Blytheweigh
Tim Blythe, Megan Ray, Alice McLaren, Madeleine
Gordon-Foxwell +44 20 7138 3204
In accordance with the AIM Rules - Note for Mining and Oil &
Gas Companies - June 2009, the information contained in this
announcement has been reviewed and signed off by Jay Cheatham, a
qualified Chemical & Petroleum Engineer, who has over 40 years'
relevant experience within the sector.
Glossary
Net to gross is the total amount of pay footage divided by the
total thickness of the reservoir interval
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