Melbana Energy Limited (Melbana) provides this operational update regarding
Block 9 PSC onshore Cuba, for which it is operator and holds a 30% interest.
Highlights
- Oil from Alameda-2 production well continues to add to inventory; more than
15,000 barrels of oil now in storage; first shipment anticipated end of June.
- Alameda-2 continuously producing oil at a managed rate since mid-April.
- All permits, inventory and equipment received and civil works completed for
Amistad-2, Block 9’s first well specifically designed to maximise production.
- Current work programs are valuable catalysts to support ongoing, positive
negotiations to secure a financing facility for extensive field development.
- Civil works for Amistad-3 commenced and award of drilling permit imminent.
- 3D seismic tender concluded with several submissions received; LiDAR
acquisition completed.
Melbana Energy’s Executive Chairman, Andrew Purcell, commented: “At current
production rates we’ll have enough oil for our first trial shipment next month. The learnings
from this exercise combined with the results from the upcoming Amistad-2 production well –
our first designed to maximise production from the entire Unit 1B formation - take us an
important step closer to securing a financing facility to fund our field development plan, a final
investment decision on which is expected to be made before year end.”
Oil Production
Alameda-2 has been continuously producing oil from the Unit 1B formation (see Figure 4) since
mid-April, as well as returning the heavy completion brine lost to the formation during the recent
successful workover. Management of this cleanup process, which we estimate to take at least
another month at the current rate, is focussed on maintaining consistent operating conditions
so that, once it is complete, a decision can be made on necessary operational settings to
optimise production rates for the long term.
Currently, oil production undergoes primary separation on site before being stored locally. This
stored production is then regularly transported about 50km by road to facilities managed by
the national oil company for further processing then permanent storage. The entire process
requires minimal personnel, making for low operating costs.
With more than 15,000 barrels of oil now in storage, the first shipment could take place towards
the end of next month. The intended buyer of the oil is currently conducting investigations into
the timing and availability of either a suitable coastal tanker or pooling the cargo with scheduled
upcoming exports of larger volumes of crude oil.
Amistad-2 Production Well
Construction of Pad 9 and access roads for the drilling of Amistad-2, located approximately
850 metres to the southwest of Alameda-2 on Pad 1 (see Figure 3), are complete and all
material permits required to commence drilling have been received. The well is to be a
dedicated Unit 1B oil producer and its design has been significantly simplified by incorporating
lessons learned from previous wells. Drilling to total depth is expected to take less than three
weeks, with completion and testing to follow.
A section of Unit 1A will be logged and cased, but not tested, en route to Unit 1B given the previously observed productive capacity of that unit. A 650-metre measured depth (MD) section of the productive Unit 1B will be drilled at a shallow angle of up to 30° to intersect a series of fracture systems interpreted from seismic (see Figure 4). Amistad-2 is planned to be drilled to a total depth of 1125 metres MD with the proprietary Reservoir Drilling Fluid (RDF), which has been specifically designed to avoid formation damage issues observed in prior wells, to be used for well control.
The base case drilling plan is to orient the well trajectory to maximally intercept the productive
Unit 1B formation then do an open hole completion to allow it to flow naturally. Should they be
required, a slotted liner and pump will be available in case wellbore instability is observed or
excessive losses are encountered and a pump is required to unload the well. On completion
the well will be tested, the rig released and continuous production commenced.
Preparations for Amistad-3
Preparations for the contingent Amistad-3 production well are advanced with construction of
the well pad having commenced and drilling permits in the final stages of approval. All
equipment and materials necessary to drill the well are in-hand. Additional production
equipment and contingent materials orders are in the process of being procured.
Total depth is planned at 1625 metres MD and the orientation of the Amistad-3 production well
has been similarly chosen to maximise its intercept of the Unit 1B formation (see Figure 5).
Surveys
To optimally recover the oil accumulations that have been discovered to date in Block 9,
eventually a better understanding of the surface topology and the subsurface structures will
be required so that production wells can be located and oriented without interfering with one
another.
A 445km2 LiDAR1 survey was flown over a section of Block 9 to provide the surface topology
data. In addition to providing extremely accurate and vital information with respect to ground
elevation required for seismic acquisition planning and seismic processing, these data will also
be used for planning the development of the Alameda/Amistad oil field by providing accurate
topographic information for future well pad planning, facilities placement and road construction
in the Block 9 area. A total of 76 swaths of data were acquired and processing is currently
being finalised.
To better understand the subsurface structures it is proposed to conduct a 3D seismic survey.
Seismic surveying allows subsurface structures to be mapped and their composition estimated
by capturing then interpreting the reflections of shock waves artificially generated at surface
specifically for this purpose. To date, well locations in Block 9 have been selected using the
results of several available 2D seismic surveys previously acquired by others. The advantages
of a 3D seismic survey, particularly one specifically designed to support the anticipated field
development program, include gaining a better three dimensional understanding the
subsurface – which is particularly important for the types of structures found in Block 9.
Proposals for the proposed 3D seismic survey have recently been received from four
international companies. Following a period of evaluation, a preferred tenderer is expected to
be nominated based on a combination of qualification factors including cost, technical and
operational capabilities. The proposal included four potential survey designs to address the
challenge to image subsurface targets ranging from 200 metres below surface to greater than
4000 metres. The survey would require the seismic waves to be generated using vibrators as
well as dynamite. In addition to providing vital information required for the efficient development
of the Alameda and Amistad Fields, the survey area also include the highly prospective
Máximo Gómez and Grace leads which are presently poorly defined by existing 2D seismic data. The objective is to commence permitting for the survey as soon as the preferred tenderer is chosen, with acquisition anticipated to commence in Cuba’s next dry season (November 2025 to April 2026).
Joint Venture and Regulator Meetings
In recent weeks, a series of technical meetings and field trips were held with the joint operation
partners in Cuba to review results from the recent Amistad-1 workover and consider drilling
plans for Amistad-2 and (the contingent) Amistad-3 wells. Improvements resulting from these
meetings were incorporated into the drilling plans then presented to the regulator for their
approval. The next joint venture meeting is currently planned for late June to consider
preliminary results expected by that time from Amistad-2 and the proposed work plan and
budget for the remainder of 2025.