Lucky oil strike at first BPRL well
Call it beginner's luck or whatever you like.
Bharat Petro Resources (BPRL) won't mind because it's just too happy about having struck oil at its maiden exploration well Pasunia-1 at Cambay onland block CB-ONN-2010/8. BPRL spud Pasunia-1 at Karoli village in Gandhinagar on February 27 using a 1000-hp rig from Essar Oilfields.
"BPRL has discovered oil at 1700 metres in the Cambay formation," says an industry source. "It is a 2 to 2½ metre column.
The well will be drilled to 2000 metres." By March 18, BPRL was logging the well and had told Essar to lower a 5½-inch casing, which indicates it is close to TD. "BPRL will begin testing soon," adds a source on March 18.
Testing should take a week after which a discovery note might be sent to the DGH. Essar had to increase the mud weight to 10.5-ppg to deal with pressure and prevent an oil kick.
BPRL has committed six exploration wells in Phase-I and is expected to move the Essar rig to the second location next week.