Galilee Energy (ASX:GLL) has expanded its planned Zydeco-1 sidetrack in Louisiana, US, into a seven-target oil and gas program after identifying five shallow oil prospects.
The new targets sit above the Stafford and Upper Tweedel objectives and contain a combined gross prospective oil resource of 317,000 barrels on a 2U basis and 422,600 barrels on a 3U basis.
The estimates are unrisked and relate to undiscovered accumulations, with further exploration and appraisal required to determine whether recoverable hydrocarbons are present.
The five targets — Borsum, Richie, Discorbis gravelli, First Het, and Homeseeker B — were identified using logging-while-drilling data from the original well, seismic interpretation, and information from nearby wells.
Managing Director Joseph Graham says the original well provided substantially more information than was available before drilling.
“The sidetrack is now designed to capture that value by testing a broader, stacked target inventory from the shallow oil zones through Stafford and into the Upper Tweedel,” Graham says.
Gas readings indicate the original well ended within the Stafford Formation, exceeding the 5,000-unit upper detection limit of the rig’s gas detector across the interval.
Galilee identified nearby well RL Bucklin #1 as the closest producing analogue, where an approximately 2.4m Stafford interval tested 1.2 million standard cubic feet of gas and 48 barrels of condensate per day. However, the company says the result does not establish reservoir continuity or deliverability at Zydeco, and no prospective resource is attributed to Stafford.
Upper Tweedel remains the principal deep objective. Galilee says the original well closely followed its pre-drill stratigraphic model before a mechanical issue interrupted drilling, improving its understanding of the target’s expected depth and structural position.
The sidetrack is designed to re-evaluate the five shallow intervals before continuing to Stafford at about 2,863m true vertical depth and Upper Tweedel at about 2,920m.
Galilee says it is finalising the sidetrack design, data-acquisition program, and contractor arrangements. The program remains subject to approvals, funding, contractor availability, and operating conditions.
The company holds a 100% working interest and 70% net revenue interest in the 325.3-acre Zydeco Oil and Gas Project in Acadia Parish, which is covered by three-dimensional seismic data and lies close to existing gas infrastructure.
Write to France Pinzon at Mining.com.au
Images: Galilee Energy
