Edinburgh-based Melrose Resources’ South Khilala-2 development in Egypt is flowing at a rate of 14 million cubic feet per day after being completed as a high angle producer, the company has announced.

The well, which has been tied back to the West Khilala field facilities, brings the total South Khilala field production rate to 25 MMcfd and total recoverable proved and probable reserves from 47 billion cubic feet to 60 Bcf.

Company chief executive David Thomas was pleased with the results, he said in an announcement to the London Stock Exchange.

“The South Khilala-2 well results are very positive, both from a reserves and deliverability perspective, and will help underpin our production forecast,” he said.

,Melrose said the EDC-9 rig was used to successfully re-enter and complete the company’s nearby East Dirkinis-1 discovery after completing the South Khilala-2 work.

The rig’s current project is converting the suspended South Batra-14 development well into a produced water disposal well, Melrose said.

It would eventually be used to complete the suspended West Abu Khadra well for production and then relocate to southern Egypt to drill the Mesaha exploration well.

East Dirkinis-1 will be put on stream later this year using a low cost tie-back to the West Dirkinis facilities, Melrose said, targeting field reserves of 300,000 barrels of liquids and 3 Bcf of gas.

In the announcement, Thomas said the company was also encouraged by the outcome of a recent 3D seismic campaign over

A 3D seismic campaign over the central area of the Galata block offshore Bulgaria had identified seven potential reservoir structures with a total combined unrisked P50 prospective resource estimate of 125 billion cubic feet.

The company was preparing to drill the highest ranked prospect, known as Kamchia, in early 2013 as part of a multi-well rig programme which was to include the completion of the Kavarna East discovery and two exploration wells in Romania.

Seismic studies over Melrose’s Muridava and Est Cobalcescu concessions in the Romanian Black Sea using the Vyacheslav Tikhonov seismic vessel had covered 28% of the total 192,000 hectares to be acquried.

Thomas said the two projects were encouraging.

“These two initiatives will support an exciting drilling programme in the Black Sea in 2013," he said.

Source: Upstream Online