• Spudding of the Folschviller 2 appraisal well at the Lorraine Project in eastern France.
• Production testing of the major coal packets intersected in the Folschviller St1 well.
• A maximum of five laterals will be drilled with each lateral planned to extend for 250 metres into each seam.
European Gas Limited announces the spudding of the Folschviller 2 appraisal well at the company’s 100% owned Lorraine Project in eastern France.
The Folschviller 2 well is being drilled at a site 850 metres east of the town of Folschviller and immediately adjacent to company’s Folschviller St 1 stratigraphic well.
Up to five laterals of maximum 250 metres in length each will be drilled from a single mother bore. The main objective of the well and lateral completions is to establish methane productivity from each of the three principal coal packets encountered in the Folschviller St 1 stratigraphic well.
Drilling is planned to be conducted to 1400 metres Measured Depth (MD). The initial vertical section to 242 metres has been previously completed with a 40 tonne rig. Utilising a 120 tonne rig, the vertical well will be completed to 720 metres followed by a build up section to 73° from vertical at a true vertical depth of 1005 metres and then continuing a slant section (the mother bore) to MD. Each of the laterals will comprise a build up length of 120 to 150 metres before entering the coal. Completion will be with six inch casing then 2 3/8 inch slotted liners.
The laterals will be directed so as to have optimal exposure to the major cleat direction. Specific drilling fluids developed for coal bed methane operations will be used to help reduce permeability damage.
The deliverability of methane from three of the four major coal seams in the area will be tested in the program. The seams will be intersected between 1076 and 1260 metres from surface. The three seams intersected in the Folschviller St1 stratigraphic well and targeted for testing include;
1. The Z-Z-Y packet has a net coal thickness of 12.2 metres and average gas content of 10.1 cubic metres per tonne (m3/t) (358 standard cubic feet per tonne (Scf/t)).
2. The Alpha-Alpha’-Beta-Gamma packet has a net coal thickness of 14.9 metres and average gas content of 9.4 m3/t (333 Scf/t).
3. The Marie-Maurice-Noirel packet has a net coal thickness of 10.3 metres and average gas content of 9.9 m3/t (350 Scf/t).
Information about formation pressure and water content will be obtained to assist in planning subsequent production wells. The success of the well prognosis will be analysed to determine the need (or otherwise) for using detailed seismic to plan the well bore trajectories.
It is expected that any gas production will comprise mainly methane. However significant higher hydrocarbon gases were recorded by the mud-gas log in the Folschviller St1 well and analysis of a gas sample from the Alpha-Alpha'-Beta-Gamma packet returned 79.3% methane, 12.7 % ethane, 2.8% propane and 5.2% inerts.
The drilling contractor for the Folschviller 2 program is S.M.P. of Château-Renard, France with directional services provided by Target Well Control of Aberdeen, UK.
The well has a planned completion time of approximately 60 days.
The program is in preparation for the development of the large Gas in Place (GIP) resource which to date totals 28.1 billion cubic metres (991.2 billion cubic feet) within approximately 7% of the Company’s Lorraine permit areas. This GIP resource is likely to be enhanced due to;
• The Folschviller St1 and Diebling St1 wells, coal thicknesses were 25% to 80% higher than that used in the original GIP calculations;
• The overall gas content values were 15% to 25% higher than those used in making the original GIP calculations.