Ivanhoe Energy Inc. reported the results of a log and core analysis from a test well on Block 20 of the Pungarayacu oil field in Ecuador. The company said that the results were positive and indicates the presence of a heavy oil reservoir in the Hollin formation.
The IP-15 well was drilled to a total depth of 1,343 feet, and encountered 300 feet of net pay in the Hollin formation. The company will commence cyclic steam stimulation in the well, which involves injecting steam down hole to see if production can be successfully stimulated.
“We are excited by the initial information we have received from the IP-15 well,” said Mr. Martin. “Results indicate that we have encountered a thick, clean, high-quality oil formation in the Hollin. This is an enormous, 426-square-mile block, and we have a great deal yet to confirm with additional drilling, but the data extracted from the logs and cores on IP-15 are better than we expected,” said David Martin, the CEO of Ivanhoe Energy Latin America.
Ivanhoe Energy Inc. said that the Hollin formation is a sandstone formation where Petroecuador, the national oil company of Ecuador, drilled 26 test wells in the 1980’s. Eni SpA, an Italian oil company, produces 30,000 barrels of oil per day from the Hollin formation at a block approximately 40 miles south of the Ivanhoe Energy Inc. block.
Let us hear your thoughts below: