Ithaca Energy Inc. announces the commencement of development drilling operations on the Stella offshore field, with the first well on the field having been spudded using the Ensco 100 heavy duty jack-up rig.
The initial campaign involves the drilling and completion of four production wells on the Stella field prior to start-up. Three horizontal wells are to be drilled into the oil rim of the field, along with one highly deviated gas-condensate well on the crest of the structure.
As previously announced, Advanced Drilling Technology International (“ADTI”), a subsidiary of the global drilling contractor Transocean, has been contracted to manage the drilling and completion operations under “turnkey” contract arrangements.
Each well is anticipated to take approximately 80-90 days to drill and complete. It is planned for each well to be clean-up tested, within the capacity limits of the flow test equipment that will be used on the Ensco 100. Details of the test results will be provided.
The joint venture partners in the Ithaca operated GSA are Ithaca Energy (UK) Limited (54.66%), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, Dyas UK Limited (25.34%) and Petrofac Energy Developments (20%).