BPZ Energy, announced spudding of the first development well at the Corvina field CX-15 platform, located in offshore Block Z-1 in Peru. Drilling and completion of the CX15-1D well is expected to take up to twelve weeks. Conventional core samples of the Zorritos formation reservoir rocks will be cut during drilling operations and an additional casing string will be used as a precaution to manage any potential shallow gas. Targeted depth of the well will be approximately 7,400 feet subsea. Subsequent wells at the CX-15 platform are expected to be drilled and completed in less time.
In early July, sea and swell conditions caused pre-drilling operations at the CX-15 to be stopped for safety reasons. As a result, operations which were supporting installation of the top drive were suspended, one of the final steps required before drilling could begin. These conditions affected a large area of the Peruvian and Chilean coastlines and forced the closure of numerous ports. Necessary repairs to a crane that was supporting the top drive installation were also completed during the work stoppage on the platform.
President and CEO Manolo Zuniga commented, "We are excited to begin our previously announced multi-well development drilling campaign at the CX-15 platform, which will be instrumental in helping grow our oil production volumes. I congratulate the teams who worked diligently to finalize drilling preparations for this first well, which is another milestone for our Company. We look forward to sharing results of this well in the coming weeks."
