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The well, drilled to a depth of 15,323 feet, contained an oil-producing zone known as "net pay" of about 450 feet. It tested at a stabilized flow rate of 1,010 barrels of oil per day from the Hemlock formation. Using pressure data gathered during the flow test, the production rate for the well is estimated to be 2,500 b/d using artificial lift, Forest Oil officials said. Gus Zepernick, Forest Oil's president and chief operating officer, said the find is an exciting development for the company and the state of Alaska, and hopefully, "the first of many new investment projects for Forest Oil in Alaska." Gary Carlson, Alaska manager for Forest Oil, said the oil flowing from Redoubt No. 1 appears to be similar in quality to the 27-28 API gravity crude that the company now produces in its West MacArthur Field on the western side of Cook Inlet.
Forcenergy Inc bought rights to explore the prospect several years ago from independent Danco Exploration and built the Osprey Platform, a $35 million mobile drilling unit, to perform the work. Since then, Denver-based Forest Oil has acquired Forcenergy, including its Alaska operations. Later this month, Forest Oil will spud the No. 2 well to test the Hemlock formation in an adjacent fault block, with that well expected to reach total depth in late April or early May, assuming trouble-free drilling, Carlson said. Though Forest Oil has mapped the entire field, the company's exploration team will need to know more much about the prospect before it can estimate recoverable reserves in Redoubt, Carlson said. "The second well will be critical for us to estimate the size of the field," he said. "And we're not committing to any development at Redoubt until after we see results from the second well." While the depth of the net pay for the first well is impressive by global standards, it's not the thickest known in the Hemlock formation, Carlson said. That distinction is held by Unocal Alaska's Trading Bay Unit in western Cook Inlet. "I would describe the Redoubt well as good Hemlock," Carlson said. Dan Donkel of Danco Exploration had pegged Redoubt's reserves at 40 million barrels or more. Alaska oil and gas officials say they have no reserves estimates on record for the prospect. Alaska petroleum economist Chuck Logsdon said the output from Redoubt No. 1 "sounds pretty good, but the truth of the matter is you need some reserves estimates before you can decide whether to spend the money to develop the field." If results from the second well are promising, Forest Oil plans to drill up to three additional wells, Carlson said. Permitting for development of the field is under way and first production is anticipated in the second quarter of 2002. If Forest Oil confirms its expectations with the second well, Redoubt would become the Inlet's first commercial oil development in a decade. That would be good news for Cook Inlet, which has seen declining production in recent years. Total output shrank to about 26,000 b/d last year, before rebounding near year's end with new production from a new well at the West MacArthur field and improved output in Unocal's operations.
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