TRANSEURO ENERGY CORP. : http://www.transeuroenergy.com/ : QwikReport
Canada
The Beaver River field is held 50% by Transeuro and 50% by Questerre Energy Corporation. The lease covers 35 sections and includes and the entire infrastructure. The East Coast main export gas pipeline runs onto the lease.
The Beaver River natural gas field is located in Northern British Columbia and was discovered by Amoco in 1961 with commercial production beginning in 1971 from the deeper Nahanni reservoirs that are also producing from the adjacent Fort Liard area of the southern Northwest Territories where large gas discoveries by Chevron and Encana have confirmed the region's natural gas potential. The Nahanni is historically estimated to contain 1.5-3.0 Tcf original gas in place, with a recovery factor of 10-20%. Situated approximately 150 km northwest of Fort Nelson, the Beaver River field ties into the Duke Energy transmission pipeline. The Company aims to produce bypassed pockets of gas to increase the recovery factor from the Nahanni reservoir.
The field has a series of shale formations over a total thickness of 3000m that are all thought to contain producible gas columns, the Mattson, Besa River and Golata shales. There are 3 wells on production. The Mattson is currently producing in well A-7, the Besa River from well A-2 and the deeper Golata shale from the A-5 well. 8 old wells exist in the field from the original Nahanni development and these are being reviewed for cheap workover operations to access more of the prospective shale intervals.
Testing of the B3, August 2007
Shale gas at Beaver River
Transeuro has identified the potential for a significant enhanced shale gas play in the shallow sections of the field, in 3 disctinct horizons and has started a multi-well program to appraise the size and commercial viability of the resource:
Mattson shale from around 1200 - 2100m with A-7 producing
Besa River Shale from around 2000 - 3000m with A-2 producing
Golata and Muskwa shales from 3000m - 4000m
The initial phase of the Beaver River farm in commitments was completed during the winter of 2005/06. Re-entry and perforating operations were conducted in three old wells, the A2, A6 and B2. Wells A2 and A6 were successfully re-completed to the Mattson formation and hydraulically fractured to stimulate production. Well A-2 has been on production since March 2006 with gas rates increasing gradually with time from 1.6 to 4.5 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d). Well A-6 produced successfully at around 0.5 MMcf/d prior to fracturing but following a small fracturing operation, has struggled to clean up sufficiently to flow at commercial rates. A larger slickwater fracturing operation is planned. Operations on well B-2 were suspended due to poor cement isolation between casing and the wellbore was retained for a future deep sidetrack into the Nahanni.
The first shallow well, the A7, was drilled in the north of the field to target the same intervals producing successfully in the A-2 well. Following drilling and mechanical problems the well failed to reach the target and was completed and fractured in the Mattson formation. The well is currently on production. A second shallow well, the B3, was drilled logged and cased by the end of March 2007. Different small hydraulic fracturing methods were used and obtain gas from all 4 intervals, but not at commercial rates. Larger slickwater fracs are now planned to achieve commercial rates.
In Sept 08 the company re-entered the A-5 well, abandoned the Nahanni and perforated and stimulated in the Golata shales. A thin limestone interval was acidized and tested 10 mmcf/d with a wellhead pressure of 3000 psi. The well was put on production and flowed steadily at 5mmcf/d and is performing more as a conventional well than a typical shale gas well. As the pressure declines it is hoped that the limestone will act as a pathway for the surrounding shale gas to produce into the well at a commercial rate.
Shale Gas in British Columbia
Substantial evidence exists to suggest that the shallow shows at Beaver River are in fact due to the presence of a substantial shale gas reservoir. The pursuit of shale gas fields in northeast British Columbia has seen a huge increase in activity during 2007, particularly in the Horn River basin, located just to the East of Beaver River. The same Muskwa shales there are present in Beaver River as the deeper of the 3 potential horizons and are the target of the A5 workover in September 2008. While shale gas resources are not much in production in Canada, this non-conventional reservoir is being successfully developed in a number of areas of the USA, including the Barnett shale in Texas and the Lewis shale in California. Transeuro is currently at the leading edge of this technology in Canada and is able to produce the wells as the export pipeline is located on the lease.
The reservoirs are being characterised by Transeuro as an 'enhanced' shale gas prospect as the presence of sand and clays in the shale increases the porosity to the range of 4-7%, somewhat higher than conventional shale gas plays, thereby allowing for a greater gas saturation. Additionally, the field is located in the foothills of the Rockies, in a region of historically high rock stresses that have generated a high density of natural fractures in the shales. These natural fractures are essential in shale reservoirs to increase the overall permeability in the rock that allows the gas to flow towards the wells. The higher density of fractures suggests that the wells will flow at a higher rate and will drain a larger area around the wellbore. Overall cumulative recovery of gas in place should also be enhanced.
Shale Appraisal Campaign
Results from the initial campaign of workovers and new drills has provided mixed success, which is not unusual in the development of shale reservoirs. A review of the fracturing technology has been completed and the next phase of appraisal will target up to 14 horizons in 6 wells across the field, to assess the commercial potential of all 3 horizons across the field.
