Gulf Keystone delayed at Shaikan

23rd Jun 2010 07:40

Gulf Keystone, the Kurdistan-focused oil explorer, has had to delay the start of drilling Shaikan- 2 appraisal well after running into mechanical problems on another well.Gulf says the Bijeel-1 exploration well had to be re-drilled after running into problems at a depth 370 metres, which woiuld caue a delay of eight weeks. "Consequently, drilling of the Shaikan-2 appraisal/exploration well, which is to use the Weatherford 842 rig currently on location at the Bijeel-1 well, will be delayed. The Shaikan-2 well is now expected to spud during the third quarter of 2010," it said.Gulf, though was upbeat on the Bijeel-1 results so far. "While the sidetrack of Bijeel-1 delays our drilling of the Shaikan-2 appraisal well, we are delighted by the first successful test of 3200 bopd and we look forward to the test results from the additional prospective intervals. The implications of the water pressure data from Bijeel-1 provides further support for movement toward the upside volume range for the Shaikan structure," chief executive Todd Kozel said.The Shaikan field contains an estimated 7.4bn barrels.