Corcel PLC has provided an update on the testing of the Tobias-14 ("TO-14") well in the onshore Block KON-11, in Angola, where it holds a 20% working interest. The Operator, Sonangol, has reported that testing of the TO-14 well has formally begun after encountering delays due to longer than expected timelines for deliveries of required testing equipment and severe inclement weather at the well location, including heavy rains and regional flooding.
The Operator will move the test equipment to the TO-13 well pad, which is already being prepared for testing, and will conduct flow testing on the TO-13 well. The Company expects to receive initial flow test results for TO-14 over the next several weeks and will update the markets on the results of the test program in due course.
KON-11 is considered a brownfield development and includes the historically producing Tobias field, which was drilled and developed by Petrofina in the 1960s and 1970s. The field constituted 12 historic vertical wells, and Corcel and the operator believe that a revised interpretation of the existing structures, along with modern drilling and completion technology, will lead to a higher Original Oil in Place ("OOIP") figure recognized in the reactivated field and subsequently more producible field resource potential.
The traditional Tobias field reservoir is in the Binga limestone, located at a depth of approximately 700m along the crest of the structure, with 4-14% primary rock porosity, enhanced by an extensive, naturally fractured carbonate system. Historic peak production at Tobias was 17,500 bbls/d with 29 MMbbls produced over the life of the field. Corcel's estimated unproduced prospective oil resources are 65 MMbls with 11.7 MMbls net to CRCL. The field will qualify for marginal field fiscal terms, as outlined by the Angolan government, resulting in advantageous royalty, tax, and depreciation regimes.