Permit Granted for More Drilling on Zia Reservation in Sandoval County, N.M
Drilling Activity Details
Sandoval
NM
United States
Drilling Activity Summary
Description
IHS Markit reported that Black Exploration LLC has received a drilling permit for a third well in a remote exploration program on the Pueblo of Zia Reservation in Sandoval County, N.M. The #1 Ko Wa Me will be in Section 11-14n-2e and will test Pennsylvanian and Mississippian zones with a proposed total depth of 9,600 ft. The exploration program's two other wells, which were permitted in 2019 at #1 Zianna in Section 18-15n-3e with a projected depth of 3,550 ft. It will test Point Lookout; Hosta-Dalton; Niobrara; Dakota and Burro Canyon. The #1 Cerrito Negro will be in Section 33-16n-2e and is targeting Auga, Zarca, Mississippian and Precambrian formations between 1,100 and 3,450 ft. A three-well program was approved in 2015 by the BLM, with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Pueblo of Zia. Approval of the program was held up by the NEPA process. The project area is within the Albuquerque Basin. The northern part of the Albuquerque Basin is underlain by poorly consolidated rock of the Santa Fe formation. The bedrock geology within the project area encompasses Middle Miocene age strata, including the Cerro Conejo member of the Zia formation and the lower Arroyo Ojito formation, within the Santa Fe group, according to a preliminary environmental assessment of the Black project prepared by the BLM Albuquerque district, Rio Puerco field office. Nearby production is about 30 miles to the northwest, in the San Luis/San Luis South field area, the southeastern-most producing area in the San Juan Basin. The San Luis/San Luis South Field area has produced 145.5 Mbbl of oil, 13.7 MMcf of gas and 62.4 Mbbl of water from Mesaverde above 1,100 ft since its opening in early 1959.
IHS Markit reported that Black Exploration LLC has received a drilling permit for a third well in a remote exploration program on the Pueblo of Zia Reservation in Sandoval County, N.M. The #1 Ko Wa Me will be in Section 11-14n-2e and will test Pennsylvanian and Mississippian zones with a proposed total depth of 9,600 ft. The exploration program's two other wells, which were permitted in 2019 at #1 Zianna in Section 18-15n-3e with a projected depth of 3,550 ft. It will test Point Lookout; Hosta-Dalton; Niobrara; Dakota and Burro Canyon. The #1 Cerrito Negro will be in Section 33-16n-2e and is targeting Auga, Zarca, Mississippian and Precambrian formations between 1,100 and 3,450 ft. A three-well program was approved in 2015 by the BLM, with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Pueblo of Zia. Approval of the program was held up by the NEPA process. The project area is within the Albuquerque Basin. The northern part of the Albuquerque Basin is underlain by poorly consolidated rock of the Santa Fe formation. The bedrock geology within the project area encompasses Middle Miocene age strata, including the Cerro Conejo member of the Zia formation and the lower Arroyo Ojito formation, within the Santa Fe group, according to a preliminary environmental assessment of the Black project prepared by the BLM Albuquerque district, Rio Puerco field office. Nearby production is about 30 miles to the northwest, in the San Luis/San Luis South field area, the southeastern-most producing area in the San Juan Basin. The San Luis/San Luis South Field area has produced 145.5 Mbbl of oil, 13.7 MMcf of gas and 62.4 Mbbl of water from Mesaverde above 1,100 ft since its opening in early 1959.