Oilex (ASX:OEX, LON:OEX) told investors it has now begun the testing phase for the Cambay 77-H well.
The operation began on Tuesday November 4, and the initial program will run for about twelve and a half days.
During this initial 300 hour period the well is flowing, and after that the well will be shut-in for at least another 300 hours so that the well’s response to production can be recorded.
"Cambay-77H is the first horizontal well with multi-stage fracture treatments to successfully be production tested in India,” said managing director Ron Miller.
He adds: “Cambay-77H has also demonstrated that the Cambay Field is amenable to this technology which has now been successfully implemented in India.”
The testing programme is designed to provide performance data relevant for the long term, and it is expected to be essential in the analysis of reservoir properties.
It represents the final major phase of work for the Cambay 77-H proof of concept well.
Oilex intends to bring 77H into production as quickly as possible once the testing programme is complete.
It will also incorporate the ‘proof of concept’ findings of 77-H into the plans for future drill programs.
Oilex said information gained from the program so far (prior to testing) should enhance the commercialisation of the Cambay field.
Those positive findings include the immediate start of oil and gas recovery during the flowback period, and also a higher than anticipated liquid-to-gas ratio (which has seen 100 barrels produced for every mln cubic feet of gas).
“The flowback and production test results are critical and Oilex is confident that insights from this well, when incorporated into future designs, will lead to optimised production wells,” Miller added.
“The hydrocarbon liquid content is also very welcome given its positive influence on revenue.
“We look forward to announcing the flow-back operations and production test results subsequent to completing analysis of the test data."