Sea Dragon Begins Drilling Operations At East Wadi Araba In The Gulf Of Suez

Canada’s Sea Dragon Energy announced on 26 November that it had commenced drilling operations at its offshore East Wadi Araba concession in the Gulf of Suez, targeting the Dahab North prospect. The exploration well is being drilled by the Transocean GSF Rig 103, and is expected to reach the targeted depth in 1Q09, with productive hydrocarbon zones likely to be encountered at depths of 2,200ms or less, the Toronto-listed company said. “Given the historical production in the adjacent Warda Field combined with our extensive seismic information, we look forward to the potential of our first prospect,” the company’s CEO David Thompson said in a statement. The target structures are in the Kareem, Rudeis and Nukul formations, which are thought to contain oil with an API gravity of 22-25°.

The company, which holds a 75% working interest in the 193 sq km concession in partnership with Dover Investments, said the recovery factor of reservoir oil in the Gulf of Suez is one of the highest in the world, potentially reaching 45-50% on primary recovery, and that the area has a well-developed infrastructure in place to transport oil to market. In August, Sea Dragon estimated the capital cost of drilling and completing an offshore well at around $10mn.