APA Corporation and its partners Lagniappe Alaska, LLC, an Armstrong company, and Oil Search (Alaska), LLC, a subsidiary of Santos Limited, have completed successful flow testing of the Sockeye-2 exploratory well in Alaska’s North Slope. Apache holds a 50% working interest, operator Lagniappe and partner Santos each hold 25% working interests in the 325,411-acre exploratory block.
As previously announced, the Sockeye-2 well was successfully drilled to a depth of approximately 10,500 feet and encountered a high-quality Paleocene-aged clastic reservoir with an average porosity of 20%. The vertical Sockeye-2 well was completed in a single 25-foot interval at approximately 9,200 feet TVD, without stimulation. The well performed in line with expectations during the 12-day production test, averaging 2,700 barrels of oil per day during the final flow period, without artificial lift. The results of the flow test indicate significantly higher reservoir quality compared to similar topset discoveries to the west. Further appraisal drilling will determine the ultimate size of the discovery, but the flow test demonstrates the exceptional productivity of this shallow-marine reservoir.
“We are excited about the performance from the Sockeye-2 well, which could greatly benefit the state of Alaska and the U.S.,” said Bill Armstrong, CEO of Armstrong Oil & Gas. “This discovery significantly extends the prolific Brookian topset play first established with our Pikka discovery in 2013. We have identified analogous anomalies to investigate following on this success.”
“The results from the Sockeye-2 flow test are consistent with our expectations, demonstrating high quality reservoir, confirming our geologic and geophysical models and derisking additional prospectivity in the block. We will evaluate the data from the Sockeye-2 well to determine the next steps in our Alaska program,” added John J. Christmann, APA Corporation CEO.
