Winchester Energy starts drilling latest Mustang development well this week
Winchester Energy also announced its White Hat 20#5 well is now on pump, currently producing 192 barrels of oil per day.
US-focused Winchester Energy (ASX: WEL) is about to start drilling its next development well on the Mustang oilfield in the Permian Basin as its other Texan oil wells continue to clean up.
The onshore oil explorer and producer today announced the White Hat 20#4 well is due to spud this week. This well is located less than 400m southwest of White Hat 20#3, which produced oil at an initial rate of 306 barrels per day.
This latest well in the company’s Mustang oil development plan is expected to take 10 days to drill to a planned total depth of 6,200 feet (1,890m).
In today’s market update, Winchester also confirmed its White Hat 20#5 well is now on pump and is currently producing 192bpd of oil and 50bpd of water with an oil cut of 82%.
The well is cleaning up and the oil cut has been rising since pumping commenced, the company reported.
Winchester has a 75% working interest in the White Hat Ranch oil lease, with private partner Carl E Gungoll Exploration holding the remaining 25% stake.
According to Winchester, aggregate production from the White Hat 20#2, 20#3 and 20#5 wells has exceeded 76,600bbls of oil (gross).
Lightning prospect
Meanwhile, the company’s 100% owned Arledge 16#2 well on the Lightning prospect is continuing to flow oil without pump, with only occasional swabbing required to stabilise flow.
According to Winchester, the well’s recent output included 55bbls of oil over a six-hour period.
The company has installed a low-cost plunger at the well to augment flow and stabilise production but said it will use a hydraulic pump if the first method proves ineffective.
It noted significant upside remaining in Arledge 16#2 with about 24.5ft (7.47m) of untested pay in the lower sands and a total of about 50ft (15.24m) of additional net pay interpreted to be contained in the entire upper sand unit.
Winchester has also re-entered and logged the shallow sand unit in the older Arledge 16#1 well, with new wireline logs indicating oil potential.
The company said it will run new casing and test this shallow sand unit in the coming weeks.