Echo Energy plc, the Latin American focused upstream oil and gas company, announces the succesful completion of the extended well test following the workover on well CSo-85 located in the mature Cañadon Salto field in the Company's Fracción D asset, in Joint Venture between Echo and its Argentine partner Compañía General de Combustibles S.A. ("CGC").
 
Well CSo-85 underwent an extended well test period which included 16 days of stabilised gas production at a variety of choke sizes from 6 to 14 mm, achieving a maximum rate of 2.5 mmscf/d at a tubing head pressure of 432 psi. This was followed by a period of 19 days in which pressure gauges were left in the wellbore to monitor the pressure build up. The gauges have now been recovered and the data analysed to calculate the likely minimum connected volume to the CSo-85 wellbore. The results were very positive and indicate that the well is in direct communication with a volume of approximately 4 bcf of gas in the Springhill C1 reservoir. This is based on the inferred radius of investigation from the test and the parameters that were used to determine the prospective resources by Gaffney Cline & Associates.
 
Integration of this data along with the mapped extent of the Springhill C1 reservoir on the eastern flank would indicate that it will be possible to convert some, or all, of the currently classified gross best case prospective resources of 15.3 bcf immediately to contingent resources.  After agreement to move forward with a development plan, conversion to a reserves catergorisation would follow. 
 
In addition to these Springhill C1 resources, the deeper Springhill C3 reservoir also present across the same eastern flank has some 11.6 bcf of gross best case prospective resources attributed to it, which would also be incorporated into a development plan with a similar expectation of reclassification.
 
The Company and CGC are currently evaluating the drilling of an additional Tobifera gas well on the western flank of Cañadon Salto during the current drilling campaign that would target total gross prospective resource of 18.8 bcf (best case) in addition to confirming existing contingent resources of 19.0 bcf (gross best case). Success on such a well would support an early decision for gas development at Fracción D.
 
Fiona MacAulay, Chief Executive Officer of Echo, commented: 
"The extended testing of the Springhill C1 reservoir on the eastern flank of the Cañadon Salto field has provided us with some very positive data relating to the likely commerciality of the gas development of the field. Echo and its  partner, CGC, are working to establish a fully costed development plan including the pipeline and associated gas processing facilities along with the timeline on which we could anticipate the development activities to commence."