Berkley Petroleum is expanding its drilling and exploration activities in the southeast, including buying up the interests of Cavell Energy Corp. in the Midale area.
Berkley first drew attention in the Midale area with success at the deep Ordovician level a couple of years ago, and the company is continuing to pursue looking in the deep levels for more oil. Cavell had also entered the area last year to explore in the Ordovician, but has now reached an agreement with Berkley and its partners to sell its interests for $7.3 million.
"We thought Cavell would be a good fit with our unit," said Bob Yurkovich, Berkley's exploration manager, adding their interests were right beside the areas where Berkley is already busy.
Berkley Petroleum and partners Paramount Resources and Westminster Resources have also entered an asset exchange agreement with Upton Resources, where Berkley and partners will acquire all of Upton's interests below the Mississippian Frobisher-Alida beds in the Midale-Weyburn area. The agreement is expected to be closed by December.
Berkley has a 50 per cent interest in both the Cavell and Upton agreements, and the assets will bring in another 750 barrels of petroleum crude per day to Berkley's totals, and will provide development opportunities for 1998.
Meanwhile, in the latter half of this year, Berkley has been extending its findings in the Ordovician levels, with new discoveries at Froude, Harthaven and Clairlaw. A well in the Froude area east of Weyburn is currently producing oil at rates of 1875 barrels a day from the Ordovician. A step-out well in the same area has proven successful as well, and will be brought on production in the next few days. Berkley has a 50 per cent interest in the Froude wells, and Paramount and Westminster have 25 per cent.
The company said oil has been tested at a number of other locations in the area, with an additional four to six locations planned over the next three months. Berkley has five rigs active in the area right now, and an additional five wildcats in new areas in the southeast is planned in the next two months.
"If the wildcats work out, we're busy right up until next summer with the drilling. We're quite happy with it, it's been a great play for us," said Mr. Yurkovich, adding the success has proved the company's feeling that the Ordovician play is not just in the Midale area, but is a regional play.
"We're also shooting 3-D seismic in the area, so we're also busy with seismic activities," he said.
In the Midale area, three unit horizontals producers have been drilled in the Red River A pool and will be brought on production soon, with the company forecasting to have net production in excess of 5000 barrels a day from the Midale area by the end of the year. One of the horizontals is producing at a rate of 1125 barrels a day with no water.
A new pool discovery in the Devonian Duperow formation was
made in September, with oil flowing at around 425 barrels a day.
Box 400, 904 East Avenue
Weyburn, SK
S4H 2K4
Phone: (306) 842-7487
Fax: (306) 842-0282
E-mail: production@weyburnreview.com
This web page and its contents are copyright of the Weyburn
Review (1987) Ltd.