update good news i thinkVulcan Minerals Inc.-Update-Western Newfoundland
ST.JOHN'S, NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR, Nov 04, 2010 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX News Network) --
Vulcan Minerals Inc. ("the Company")(TSX VENTURE: VUL) is pleased to provide the following update on its operations.
FINNEGAN #1 WELL
PARSONS POND (WESTERN NEWFOUNDLAND)
The Company advises that Finnegan #1 has not yet reached total depth and that drilling operations are ongoing. Finnegan is the second of a proposed three well program in the Parsons Pond area of western Newfoundland. The well is a wildcat test being drilled to approximately 3,250 metres in an area known historically for numerous oil seeps at surface and in shallow wellbores within the Cambrian Ordovician-Anticosti basin.
BAY ST. GEORGE
Completions Program:
The Company has mobilized equipment from Alberta to the Robinsons #1 and Red Brook #2 sites for injectivity testing. These tests will provide the necessary parameters to design the optimal hydraulic fracture stimulation of the zones previously perforated and pressure tested. Based on the results of this Phase I completion program the company expects to carry out a stimulation program to adequately test the flow rates of the prioritized zones. These results will provide reservoir information that will also assist in quantifying the potential natural gas resource of the other untested zones in the wells. The completion program is the culmination of a wildcat drilling program in the Bay St. George basin of western Newfoundland. The results, combined with additional delineation drilling will provide the necessary information to support a natural gas resource and reserve assessment for the area.
Seismic Program:
The Company is currently carrying out one of the largest seismic programs ever acquired in the onshore area of western Newfoundland. Approximately 80 line kilometres of data have been recorded out of a total program of 130 kilometres. The program should be completed by the end of the month. The new data will be important in delineating the Jockey structure south of Red Brook and Robinsons as well as refining several drilling leads in other parts of the basin. The data will be processed and interpreted as soon as possible to finalize additional drill targets for 2011.
Flat Bay Oil Deposit:
The Company has completed its re-entry on the Flat Bay #1 well to acquire additional reservoir information. Flat Bay #1 is cased to a depth of 239 metres and encountered a thick oil charged conglomerate in excess of 100 metres gross thickness commencing at a depth of 120 metres. The reservoir has low porosity and permeability. It was previously fracture stimulated over a zone 192 -197 metres. Though initial flow backs immediately following stimulation were encouraging with an increasing oil cut in the retrieved frac fluid, the well's flow rate and oil cut decreased significantly and could not be produced. Based on the physical characteristics of the oil this may be related to the shallow reservoir having a temperature that does not exceed the pour point of the oil. This inhibits any flow of oil into the wellbore. As a result, the Company carried out a detailed temperature survey of the well and perforated a new zone in the well to recover downhole fluid samples. Preliminary analysis indicates that the reservoir temperatures at the shallow depths of Flat Bay #1 are below the measured pour point temperature of the oil which prohibits the flow of oil into the wellbore. As a result, part of the current seismic program is designed to trace the Flat Bay reservoir downdip to a favourable target area in a higher reservoir temperature regime. As well, the Company continues with its strategy of locating favourable permeability/porosity zones within the reservoir which could be subject to the injection of heat to reduce the pour point of the oil and allow it to be recovered from the shallow reservoir. This strategy includes detailed integration of new seismic with high resolution magnetic data to map the structure of the Flat Bay oil deposit and locate faults with naturally enhanced permeability. Another tool being used to better map the deposit is a detailed geochemical survey.
Geochemical Survey:
The Company has engaged W.L. Gore & Associates Inc., the inventors of GORE-TEX fabrics, to carry out a GORE Amplified Geochemical Imaging Survey over the Bay St. George project area. This survey entails placing small, retrievable modules in the soil which measure and map hydrocarbon compounds emanating from depth. The data will assist in drill target prioritization, seismic and structural interpretation of the Bay St. George basin. The technique has been used in over 130 sedimentary basins in more than 56 countries worldwide. It is a cost effective exploration tool which will assist with the mapping of the 250,000 acre exploration area including the Flat Bay oil deposit.
All current operations in the Bay St. George basin are being carried out pursuant to a 50/50 joint venture with Investcan Energy Corporation.
Vulcan is a diversified junior exploration company focused on petroleum exploration in the under-explored western Newfoundland and Labrador areas and also holds mineral interests in areas strategic to its operations in Newfoundland and Labrador.
The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The statements made in this News Release may contain certain forward-looking statements. Actual events or results may differ from the Company's expectations. Certain risk factors may also affect the actual results achieved by the Company.
There can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from any conclusions, forecasts or projections described in the forward-looking information. Accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise