Cross-border visa issues for a engineer have added to delays for 88 Energy’s plan to repair the drawworks on its Icewine #1 drilling project in Alaska.
The company, which is in the process of developing what it believes is a significant oil find said it was frustrating that delays had been incurred during the downtime but that the project remains within budget.
88 Energy said the hole continues to remain in excellent condition with circulation maintained throughout the downtime period.
The well is planned to a Total Depth of 11,600 feet and was scheduled to take 30 days of drilling to complete. The primary objective of the well is the HRZ shale formation, targeting a huge unconventional resource prize.
Managing Director Dave Wall said: “It is frustrating that a visa between the USA and Canada has held up repairs to the drawworks; however, minimal cost is being incurred during this downtime so we continue to remain within budget and should be back operating in the very near term.”
The drilling of Icewine #1 will deliver first insight to the conventional prospectivity of 88 Energy’s acreage to be matured up by the potential acquisition of 3D seismic in the near term.