Talos Comes Up Big Offshore Mexico

An appraisal well in the Zama project offshore Mexico showed more potential for oil, raising hopes of a large discovery, operator Talos Energy said on Thursday.

The Zama project in Block 7 offshore Mexico is operated by Talos, whose partners include Sierra Oil and Gas and Premier Oil.

The Zama-2 appraisal well was drilled 2.1 kilometers to the north of the Zama-1 discovery well in a down dip location with a key objective to confirm the oil water contact (OWC). The well encountered the top Zama reservoir at 3,279 meters (true vertical depth (TVD)) on prognosis and the OWC at 3,430 meters TVD, consistent with the flat-spot observed on seismic. A full wireline data acquisition program was undertaken, including the collection of cores, pressures and fluid samples from the oil and water leg.

The Zama-2 well penetrated 152 meters of net pay above the OWC in line with pre-drill estimates and encountered a higher Net-to-Gross ratio of 73% compared to 63% at Zama-1. Reservoir quality is similar to that at Zama-1 and in line with expectations.

Following completion of the data acquisition program, the Zama-2 well was deepened to evaluate the high risk Marte exploration prospect. The Marte reservoir was encountered on prognosis and did not find hydrocarbons.

Talos President and Chief Executive Officer Timothy S. Duncan said, "We are very pleased with the results of the Zama-2 well as we were able to achieve our primary goals of understanding the depositional environment and the presence of thick sand bodies needed for robust aquifer support, both of which help with ultimate recovery. We also confirmed that this section of the reservoir has similar or better rock properties as compared to the Zama-1 discovery well and that the pressure information indicates connectivity to Zama-1. Perhaps most importantly, the oil-water contact was encountered at the predicted depth, if not slightly deeper."

"These results provide us with confidence that our geological and reservoir modeling can be used as a predictive tool for the Zama development, just as we've been successfully using them on the US side of the Gulf of Mexico. It helps to de-risk not only Zama, but the remainder of the Block 7 inventory."

Tony Durrant, Chief Executive, Premier Oil, said, "This is an excellent start to the Block 7 Zama appraisal program in Mexico. It enhances our interpretation of the large Zama discovery and increases our confidence in our resource estimates. We now look forward to the results of the drill stem test of the Zama-2 side track."

This initial phase of the appraisal program was successfully and safely completed on January 20, 2019, approximately 28 days ahead of schedule and 25% below initially projected costs, Talos said.

"By incorporating the lessons learned and experiences from the Zama-1 discovery well, the team was able to successfully and safely execute the well significantly ahead of expectations, Duncan explained. "We are staying focused on working with urgency to meet the project timeline to achieve first oil by the second half of 2022."

The appraisal program will continue next with an up-dip vertical penetration in the Zama reservoir from the main bore hole of the Zama-2 well, which will be cored and a drill stem test will be performed. The second appraisal well, Zama-3, will be drilled to the south of the original discovery well and will help delineate the reservoir continuity and quality in the southern part of the field and will be cored to be better understand the reservoir geology.