TIRANA (Albania), May 24 (SeeNews) – Shell Upstream Albania, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, said on Friday its initial tests on the Shpirag-4 appraisal well near Berat, in south-central Albania, have confirmed the flow potential of a significant light oil discovery.
“We are pleased that these initial tests have confirmed the potential of this discovery and look forward to growing our business in Albania,” Shell's executive vice-president for exploration, Marc Gerrits, said in a statement.
The multi-day production test on the well demonstrated a flow potential of several thousand barrels of oil per day. A further appraisal is still to be carried out to determine the commercially recoverable volume of oil from Shpirag.
The Shpirag discovery is in an equivalent geological setting to the large Val D’Agri and Tempa Rossa fields in Italy, in which Shell holds a substantial non-operated position, Shell noted.
“The next step in the appraisal programme is to conduct an extended production test on the Shpirag-4 well, followed by further appraisal drilling at the Shpirag-3 well,” the company said, adding that, in parallel, Shell plans to drill further exploration wells within the acreage it holds to test their potential.
The Shpirag discovery was confirmed in 2013 by the Shpirag-2 well which demonstrated the presence of a light oil column of at least 800m in the reservoir, the company said.
Shell became a partner in the project in 2012 and now holds 100% equity in the Blocks 2-3 permits and will formally assume 100% equity in the Block 4 permit later in 2019. The combined acreage of the Blocks 2-3 and Block 4 permits is 4,084 km2. Multiple other large, as yet untested potential hydrocarbon accumulations have been identified within this acreage, providing opportunities for future exploration activity.
Earlier this month, Albania's ministry of energy and infrastructure said it has signed a revised oil exploration agreement with Shell Upstream Albania for Blocks 2-3. The revised agreement ensures profit for Albania from the first day of production of oil in Blocks 2-3 and clarifies a series of procedural matters in order to have safer investments in the future, Rohan D’Souza, country manager of Shell Upstream Albania, said at the time.
In February, the energy ministry said it signed an oil exploration agreement with Shell Upstream Albania for Block 4. Shell will invest an estimated $42.5 million (37.9 million euro) over seven years in the search for new oil deposits, divided in three phases, the ministry said back then.
($ = 0.89629 euro)