Canadian Overseas Petroleum Limited, an international oil and gas exploration, production and development company with operations focused in Wyoming, USA, announced a significant conventional light oil discovery at its Wyoming asset. In addition, COPL provides an operational update on its Barron Flats Shannon Field production.
Following the announcements by the Company in August and November 2021, discovery has been confirmed on COPL's large leasehold position in Converse and Natrona Counties, Wyoming in four (4) Frontier Fm. (1&2) and one (1) Dakota Fm sand(s).
- COPL currently estimates the total reservoir volume of the discovery to be 1.5 billion to 1.9 billion Bbl. of Oil in Place ("OIP"), of which 1.275 billion to 1.64 billion Bbl. of OIP underlays COPL lands
- Production has already commenced from the Dakota Fm, the lowermost reservoir sand in the BFU 14-30VF discovery well (100% WI) at 100-120 Bbl. oil/d
Arthur Millholland, President & CEO of COPL, said "We acquired Atomic Oil & Gas in January 2021 aware of the significant exploration upside, however the acquisition rationale and financial model reflected a long-term production flow from existing wells of 5,000 barrels per day. Since then, we have increased production from the existing wells and accelerated our exploration program which has resulted in today's announced discovery. This highlights the potential for the Wyoming asset to generate long-term production on a scale many multiples greater than our original expectation."
"We are delighted that this discovery reflects the scale of previous discoveries made over my career and in particular, the North Sea. We estimate the Frontier element of the discovery to cover an area of approximately 51 square miles with the capacity of up to three horizontal wells per square mile each initially producing 1,000 - 3,000 barrels per day. We plan a phased production program and have already applied for permits covering four horizontal wells. We will use internal resources to cover the initial costs of development whilst full field development plans are evaluated. This discovery highlights the long-term sustainable production outlook from this outstanding asset."
"This is a significant oil discovery and the size of the upside at our Wyoming asset was a surprise to us all. Conventional light oil discoveries of this magnitude have been rare in continental North America for years if not decades. We control the majority of this discovery as it is coincident with our large contiguous lease block. We will start exploiting the discovery this year."
"We are also delighted to report that oil production at the Shannon Unit continues to be strong and ahead of our original expectations of 2,000 bbl./d. This will imminently increase once we have resolved the current high working pressure issue. In addition, our recent simulations have indicted modifications to our injection gas/NGL mix to maximize sweep efficiency and reduce injection costs. We are currently finalizing these modifications, but all indications are that it should lead to increased productivity and most importantly increased operating margins in 2022. Together these represent major positive developments for the Company and we look to the future with renewed confidence."