Geoscience Overview

FIGURE: 10

Parcel 1 is located 40 km south-southeast of the ExxonMobil Sable Project’s central production and gathering facility at Thebaud. It is bounded by two significant discovery licences: Glenelg (west) and Chebucto (east), and by the Sable Offshore Energy Project’s North Triumph field production platform about 5 km to the north (Figure 10). The parcel’s bathymetry is generally flat-lying with a shallow dip to the southeast. Water depths range from 50 to 200 m, with depths increasing to 400 m in a small part of the parcel’s southeast corner.

The Triumph P-50 well, located 2 km north of the parcel, was drilled by Shell in 1971 in 90 m of water to test a seismically defined closure. It encountered both a small gas show within a thin, poorly developed sand (untested) and overpressure at the bottom of the well. Later analysis revealed that the well drilled through the north-bounding fault and into the adjacent footwall of the North Triumph structure. The main targeted horizons, the deeper Middle and Lower members of the Missisauga formation, were not penetrated. Subsequent seismic data indicated that the structure had very little relief and was in fact a low relief saddle possibly connecting the eastern West Chebucto field to an un-named structure to the west (Figure 11).

FIGURE: 11

In 1986, Husky-Bow Valley et al. drilled the West Chebucto K-20 well as a follow-up to their successful Chebucto K-90 well located 6 km east of K-20. West Chebucto K-20 is the only well on the parcel and was drilled in 93 m of water and is on trend with the Chebucto K-90 prospect. An undrilled feature is located along the fault trend further to the west and southwest of the North Triumph field. A summary of the aforementioned drilled structures and wells is noted in the following table.

^1:The reserve numbers shown in this table are sourced from the CNSOPB publication Technical Summaries of Scotian Shelf Significant and Commercial Discoveries (November 2000).

FIGURE: 12

The West Chebucto K-20 well took several gas kicks in the Missisauga formation that are associated with pressure steps in the lower, overpressured portion of the well. A single gas bearing sand was encountered in the early Cretaceous Missisauga formation. Sand 1 was subsequently tested and flowed gas at 4.13 MMscf/d (Figure 12) with some depletion noted in the test analysis report. The reservoir properties of Sand 1 are listed below

The porosity of Sand 1 is relatively low and core permeabilities for the zone are generally between 0.1 – 1 mD.  It should be noted that the porosity and resistivity log readings over the upper few metres of Sand 1 appear to be affected by hole washout as shown by the caliper response over the top portion of the sand (Figure 12). The well took a gas kick at the top of Sand 1 and the hole washed out during the process of circulating out the kick.  As a result, the log readings over the upper portion of the sand are questionable.

A number of seismic surveys (2D and 3D) have been acquired over portions of Parcel 1, and in many cases have accompanying interpretation reports. The table below lists the available seismic programs.

CNSOPB Programs # (links by Program)	Operator (links by company)	Year
8620-H6-2E	Husky	1982
8620-H6-7E	Husky	1982
8620-H6-8E	Husky	1984
8620-H6-9E	Husky	1985
8620-J8-1E	ICG Resources	1983
8620-J8-2E	ICG Resources	1983
8620-S14-6E	Soquip	1983
8624-H6-4E	Husky	1983
8624-H6-7E	Husky	1984
8624-H6-10E	Husky	1985
8624-N5-2E	Norcen Energy	1983
8624-S6-8E	Shell Canada	1971
8624-S6-23E	Shell Canada	1980
8624-S6-27E	Shell Canada	1981
8624-S6-33E	Shell Canada	1982
8624-S6-37E	Shell Canada	1983
8624-W13-1P	Western	1983
NS24-E40-1E	ExxonMobil	2001
NS24-M3-7E	ExxonMobil	1998
NS24-V3-2,3,4P *	CGG-Veritas	1999-2001

* These programs are confidential.