Bow Valley Energy Ltd has announced that the first well of a two well exploration program on the North Slope of Alaska commenced drilling operations on February 8th. The North Shore-1 well was spudded using the Nabors Alaska drilling rig 16E. The well should take approximately 30 days to drill, after which the rig will move to the second location at Sak River-1.
These wells will test Ivishak and Kuparuk exploration potential that has been identified using 3-D seismic data and nearby well control. Bow Valley will be paying 28.57% of the drilling costs to earn a 20% interest in each prospect.
In addition, a new 3-D seismic survey covering approximately 130 square miles is scheduled to commence in March, evaluating other prospects that have been identified in proximity and on trend to the Northshore and Sak River locations.
R.G. Moffat, President and CEO of Bow Valley commented, "This drilling program represents an exciting stage for the Company as it represents the Company's first initiative in a multi-well, multi-year exploration effort in Alaska. Bow Valley and the partnership group have mapped and identified a large inventory of exploration prospects on the North Slope of Alaska.
The current drilling program is only a few miles outside of the giant Prudhoe Bay Unit and we believe there is opportunity to find smaller satellite discoveries in the vicinity of this significant field."