Amerisur Resources’ Jaguarete-1 well in Paraguay has demonstrated the presence of oil within the basin but are “unlikely to be commercially extractable”
Amerisur said the electrical logs obtained in the exploration well indicates the presence of oil saturations within low porosity sandstones of the Lima and Santa Elena formations, stating it believes it may be the “first demonstration” of oil within the Paraguayan Parana basin.
“I am pleased to report the presence of a petroleum system in the Jaguarete-1 exploration well, which validates the conclusions of the analysis and exploration work we have performed at low cost over the last years,” said John Wardle, chief executive of the company.
“The reservoir quality indicates that the accumulations at this particular point in the structure and block are unlikely to be commercially extractable at the current time,” said Amerisur.
The company has now begun a technical programme, presented to and approved by the relevant authorities in Paraguay, to study the results of the well in order to determine whether the poor reservoir quality observed is likely to be a regional characteristic or more locally associated with the basement uplift observed in drilling.
The well has now been suspended with seven-inch liner cemented in place, and the drilling rig QG-1 has been released, and will be rigged down and stored on the Jaguarete location.
Amerisur will entertain farm-out discussions with interested industry parties, now a working hydrocarbon system has been proven.
Chief executive John Wardle, said: “The challenge now is to define the geology encountered in order to further understand the characteristics of the reservoirs, since a higher quality of rock is usually required in order to produce economically.
“While those studies are underway, which may take up to 18 months to complete, the company will restrict investment in Paraguay and concentrate on operations within our core area of Colombia,” he added.
Amerisur said it would “entertain” farm-out discussions with parties that are interested in taking part in the project.
Meanwhile, Amerisur said it has signed the amended farm-out agreement with Canacol Energy of Canada, increasing Canacol’s stake from 20% to 40% in the Coati contract area in Colombia
Canacol will carry $10.8million worth of costs, of which $7million is outstanding in favour of Platino Energy, the operator of the area which Amerisur acquired in January.
Wardle said the deal reduces Amerisur´s cash spend in the exploration area of the Coati block “while strengthening the presence of an active and extremely able partner”.
Amerisur retains 100% working interest in the evaluation area over the Temblon field, which represents approximately 20% of the block area.