BPC has confirmed that hydrocarbons were encountered while drilling the Perseverance #1 well in The Bahamas. Additionally the company has indicated that the well successfully validated the structural model and the petroleum system, and drilled a majority of the potential reservoirs of interest, thus fulfilling the core technical objectives of the well.
However, according to a release from BPC, whilst the well encountered oil, indicated from LWD (Logging while drilling) tools, gas chromatography and mud logs, commercial volumes of oil have not been proven at this well location.
Further, BPC said drilling has now ceased and the well will now be permanently plugged and abandoned.
Over the coming weeks BPC will undertake a detailed evaluation of all technical information gathered during drilling. In this context, BPC will review the appropriate way forward for future monetisation of its business in The Bahamas, in particular with a view to renewal of a farm-in process.
Near term operational activity will now focus on the Company's 2021 work programme in Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname, targeting exit production of c.2,500 bopd and prospect maturation in Uruguay.
Simon Potter, CEO of BPC, said, "I am proud to say that after many years of diligent effort we did what we said we would do: BPC drilled the Perseverance #1 well safely and without incident, testing for the presence of hydrocarbons in the Southern Seas of The Bahamas. This was the very specific objective of the well - not a scientific or geologic experiment, but to seek hydrocarbons in commercial quantities.
In a technical sense, the well successfully validated the existence of oil, seal and reservoir. Together, these factors verify the existence of a working Lower Cretaceous petroleum system and sequences of reservoir quality within the Aptian, pointing to the overall hydrocarbon potential of other untested prospects captured by BPC's extensive acreage holding. However, at the Perseverance #1 location the volumes of oil encountered are not commercial.
Perseverance #1 is the first exploration well in The Bahamas for decades, and the data gathered from this well will prove invaluable in providing a modern analysis as to the regional potential of the petroleum system, which, in our view, reduces technical risk for any future/further exploration in this new frontier province. The Company will proceed to undertake a comprehensive evaluation of the data derived from the well, as we believe the results provide a sound technical basis for renewed farm-in discussions.
Personally, I have worked on the Bahamas project for over 15 years and, along with the Board members and a number of the management team, have spent the majority of the last 10 years working to bring about the drilling of Perseverance #1. We all take great professional pride in the fact that BPC has delivered the well safely, responsibly and without incident, notwithstanding the challenges presented by Covid-19, low oil prices and a challenging market environment. Great credit is due to the professionalism of our operating and commercial teams, to whom I owe a huge thanks.
Elsewhere in the portfolio, in Trinidad we have producing oil fields and, in combination with assets in Suriname, we have upcoming drilling programmes scheduled in 2021, such that the near-term operational activity focus will now shift toward those activities.
All of us at BPC are resolute in support of the diversification strategy embarked on during 2020, and we remain intent on delivering the potential that is latent across the entire portfolio."