Operations Update

RNS Number : 6144D

Pantheon Resources PLC

04 March 2022

 

4th March 2022

Pantheon Resources plc

Operations Update

Pantheon Resources plc ("Pantheon" or "the Company"), the AIM-quoted oil and gas company with a 100% working interest in all of its oil projects spanning c. 153,000 acres adjacent and near to transportation and pipeline infrastructure on the Alaska North Slope, is pleased to provide the following update:

Talitha - Testing Update

The Company has suspended testing of the Shelf Margin Deltaic ("SMD") horizon. Operational focus will now move to the Theta West well site where the Company will commence testing operations of the 950 foot ("ft") Basin Floor Fan ("BFF") horizon.

The SMD is the shallowest and thus the final zone to test in the Talitha #A well bore. The well was perforated in the SMD from 6,965 ft to 6,975 ft and was successfully fracture stimulated. Immediately after the fracture stimulation, the test was suspended by a blizzard on the North Slope which shut down all operations for health and safety reasons. Flow testing operations resumed three days later. 

Once flow testing commenced and before the well stopped flowing after a short period of time, only 45% of the fracture fluid was produced, with no formation water and small amounts of light high quality 34 degree API oil. Other than the small amounts of oil, no reservoir fluids were produced. The consensus among the Company and external consultants is that there is a blockage preventing any additional reservoir fluid from entering the well bore. Based on all the data, which includes a full suite of logs, sidewall cores, extensive Volatiles Analysis Service ("VAS") work undertaken by AHS/Baker Hughes over the past 12 months, and the testing of the lower zones this year, the Company's expectation for the SMD is that it should produce better than the two lower zones already tested; the Basin Floor Fan ("BFF") and Slope Fan System ("SFS") horizons, where the Company achieved excellent results.  

The main priority for the remainder of the winter season is to allow sufficient time to satisfactorily test the BFF at Theta West, with operations expected to commence next week. The current unavailability of alternate testing equipment necessitates the movement of the Coil Tubing Unit and test equipment from Talitha to Theta West. This consequently limits the amount of time available for remedial work at Talitha. If time is available after testing the BFF at Theta West, the equipment will be relocated back to Talitha for additional remedial and testing operations. If, however, time does not permit this season, Pantheon will suspend testing at Talitha to return next season. The Company does not believe the issue encountered diminishes the potential for the SMD on its acreage.

Theta West Update

All remedial works within the well bore at Theta West have been successfully completed and the well is now ready for testing. The cement in the casing was drilled out and a new liner was set to Total Depth. The Nordic Calista #3 rig demobilization is planned for this weekend, preparing for the arrival of the testing equipment from Talitha.

Jay Cheatham, CEO, said: "Operating in Arctic conditions can be challenging and have caused operational issues which have impacted the testing of the SMD. We do, however, have excellent data on the SMD which we will continue to analyse and plan for further activities.

"In this strong oil price environment, many upstream companies operating in the oil and gas sector are facing equipment and logistics challenges with high equipment utilization rates. As we are well into the drilling season, we made an easy decision to suspend activity at Talitha to afford sufficient time to undertake thorough testing at the significant Theta West project.

"The next well in our programme is an Alkaid appraisal/production well this summer where we will get another look at the SMD zone and where we expect to penetrate several oil zones, drill a horizontal lateral wellbore and, if successful, put on a long term production test.

"We are now focused on operations at Theta West. Over the coming weeks, we will test what the Company believes is a significant oil accumulation after encountering over 950 feet of oil bearing sections in a large Basin Floor Fan system. Our team have prepared an extensive testing operation."

Bob Rosenthal, Technical Director, said: "Regardless of the operational challenges, I believe the potential of the SMD is undiminished. We plan further operations on the SMD at Talitha to remediate the issue either this season, time permitting, or next. Additionally, we will investigate the SMD at our Alkaid summer well.

"Despite the blockage encountered in the SMD, the Talitha well has been a great success for Pantheon, confirming the presence of movable, high quality light oil in both the Slope Fan System and the Basin Floor Fan, which has very significant implications for our acreage."

-Ends-

Further information:

Pantheon Resources plc	[phone]
Jay Cheatham, CEO
Justin Hondris, Director, Finance and Corporate Development
Canaccord Genuity plc (Nominated Adviser and broker)
Henry Fitzgerald-O'Connor,  James Asensio	[phone]
BlytheRay
Tim Blythe, Megan Ray, Alice McLaren, Madeleine Gordon-Foxwell	[phone]

Notes to Editors

Pantheon Resources plc is an AIM listed Oil & Gas company focused on several large projects located on the North Slope of Alaska ("ANS"), onshore USA where it has a 100% working interest in 153,000 highly prospective acres with potential for multi billion barrels of oil recoverable. A major differentiator to other ANS projects is its close proximity to transport and pipeline infrastructure which offers a significant competitive advantage to Pantheon, allowing for materially lower capital costs and much quicker development times. The Group's stated objective is to create material value for its stakeholders through oil exploration, appraisal and development activities in high impact, highly prospective conventional assets, in the USA; a highly established region for energy production with infrastructure, skilled personnel and low sovereign risk. All operations are onshore USA, with drilling costs materially below that of offshore wells.

Neither the contents of the Company's website nor the contents of any website accessible from hyperlinks on the Company's website (or any other website) incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement. The information contained within this announcement is considered to be inside information prior to its release.

The information contained within this Announcement is deemed by Pantheon Resources PLC to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("MAR").

 

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