Fremont Petroleum hits crude oil in Colorado well
Fremont Petroleum has confirmed the intersection of crude oil in its Amerigo Vespucci #1 well in Colorado following strong oil and gas shows earlier in the week.
Oil and gas junior Fremont Petroleum (ASX: FPL) has hit crude oil while drilling its Amerigo Vespucci #1 well in Colorado, United States.
The company today announced it has ‘tripped out’ (removed) all 199 joints of drill string that were used to drill the well to its total depth of 5,977 feet (1,822m) and found that 154 of the strings totalling 4,620ft (1408m) were “covered in crude oil”.
“Early indications are that the well has intersected a significant fracture network that is producing crude oil under pressure which is liberating into and up the wellbore,” Fremont stated.
This news follows Fremont’s announcement earlier this week that the well had encountered strong oil and gas shows throughout the bottom 1,000ft (305m) of the production section.
The findings came from independent mud logging data, which the company’s management and technical teams are currently reviewing.
Amerigo Vespucci #1 is a vertical well targeting production from the B and C benches of the Niobrara formation – the same formation that that yielded strong oil and gas flow rates from the recently completed JW Powell 23-25 well.
Fremont said it was “very encouraged by this crude oil intersection, as well as the extensive oil and gas shows that were identified by the independent mud-loggers”.
Logging program
Fremont said in response to the “substantial” amount of oil being observed, the company is now deploying logging tools to identify the zones where the oil is originating.
An extensive electronic logging program is now underway and has been expanded to analyse all four benches of the Niobrara formation plus the deeper Codell and Greenhorn formations, it reported.
Following the logging operations, the company plans to complete an extensive geophysical and petrophysical analysis to identify the most prolific zones for hydraulic stimulation and well completion.
Fremont’s shares jumped on the news and remained up 20% at $0.012 by afternoon trade.