The Australian company Melbana Energy confirmed positive results in the evaluation of an oil well in the western Cuban province of Matanzas.
A note published in the digital newspaper Cubadebate adds that said foreign company ratified the positive results obtained in the most recent evaluation of the Alameda-2 well in Block 9, located in said town.
The news, commented on in specialized media such as the digital publication Upstream Online and a report by Evolution Capital, raised certain doubts and expectations, for which the Cuban media spoke with the head of the Exploration and Production Group of the Cuba-Petróleo Union, Osvaldo López.
López explained that in 2015, Melbana Energy signed a production sharing contract with Cuba-Petróleo (Cupet) for the exploration and production of oil and gas in Block 9, located to the east of the Varadero field.
He said that from that year, geological and geophysical studies began, with the aim of mapping areas with hydrocarbon production potential. As a result, 19 exploratory opportunities were identified.
He added that in 2020, the Australian company partnered with the Angolan company Sonangol, which contributes 70 percent of the capital, to develop the investments committed as part of the contract.
The expert insisted that during 2021, the two companies drilled the first exploratory well: Alameda-1, in the vicinity of the Martí municipality, which was successful and discovered several areas with oil saturation. However, its design was not conceived to produce, but as an exploration well.
Subsequently, in 2022 the second exploratory well was drilled: Zapato-1, which turned out to be dry. The third well will be drilled in 2023: Alameda 2, close to the first well, with the aim of evaluating and testing the productive capacity of the intervals already discovered.
The head of the Exploration and Production Group reported that Alameda 2 completed its drilling in July 2023 with positive results. He explained that in tests carried out, production volumes of up to 1,100 barrels of oil per day were achieved.
It is also notable to obtain a crude oil of 18 degrees API, lighter and with a lower sulfur content than those usually produced in the deposits of the Havana-Matanzas Strip. López stressed that these results confirm a new discovery.
Currently, Melbana and Sonangol are carrying out, according to the standard norms and procedures of the oil industry, the necessary investigations to determine the magnitude of this discovery, as well as the estimated volumes of reserves it contains.
The specialist warned that from the data obtained during this period of experimental exploitation, it will also be possible to estimate the sustainability of production over time and propose a development program that will include the drilling of more producing wells.
In addition, the results will allow the assembly of hydrocarbon treatment and collection facilities.
In the opinion of Cupet experts, this result is considered one of the most positive obtained in recent years by foreign investors operating in Cuba.
