ADX building toward Romanian gas well flow test

Perth-based European gas producer, ADX Energy is ticking all the boxes as it builds momentum toward the flow testing of its Iecea Mica-1 gas discovery well in Romania with acidisation operations set to commence in early September. Equipment contracting and mobilising is underway and the well stimulation program is expected to take around nine days to complete.

ADX has observed a continuing build-up in down hole reservoir pressure in Iecea Mica-1 which management said indicates an un-depleted gas reservoir with the energy to produce, once it has acidised the rock formation to improve the well bore’s flow rate potential.

Management said the gas-filled “PA IV” reservoir sandstone has now built up to its original reservoir pressure of 210 bar, or 3,046 psi in the old imperial scale preferred by the USA-dominated oil and gas industry.

The company said the equipment being contracted will be sourced locally in Romania to minimise the impact of any COVID-19-related border transit restrictions.

Once on site, the contractor will pump the acid down hole to clean up the reservoir rock formation that holds the gas and allow it to flow more freely.

Management said acidisation was a common practice for Romanian gas reservoirs as the sandstone layer holding the gas is often cemented by calcite or siderite which can hinder gas flow near the well bore. Calcite and siderite are forms of calcium carbonate which are readily dissolved with treatment by acid.

As methane gas has already been recovered from the primary gas zone perforated in the well that was drilled last year, ADX said it will investigate commercialisation strategies once a sustainable gas flow rate has been achieved.

ADX is targeting the middle zone of three Pliocene-aged sandstone layers that collectively hold around 20 billion cubic feet of contingent gas resources which are located in the Iecea Mare Production license in Romania, via ADX’s 49 per cent-owned subsidiary, Danube Petroleum Ltd.

The company has set its eye on either direct sale of gas into the gas pipeline grid just 12 kilometres away, or the sale of electricity into a high-voltage power grid only 2 kilometres away, via an on-site plant.

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