The Maricopa Project (50% interest), San Joaquin Basin, California
Solimar Energy currently has a 50% interest in a 120 acre lease located two miles east of the town of Maricopa within the southeast end of the Midway-Sunset Oil Field. The Midway Sunset field is one of the largest onshore oil fields in the world with reserves in excess of three billion barrels. The lease already contains five wells completed as producers with close to one million barrels being produced from the lease and some 2.2 million barrels from immediate adjoining leases since 1930.
The joint venture has identified several well locations on the lease. The wells will be drilled on what is believed to be the undeveloped portion of the lease between existing wells in the east of the permit. In addition, a horizontal well may be drilled in the west of the lease which has had no previous drilling activity.
Depending on the success of the horizontal well these recoverable volumes could be much higher as some wells in the immediate area have produced close to 500,000 barrels each. Solimar Energy believes there is additional potential in a shallower oil zone known as the Tulare Formation. Within and adjacent to this lease, an identified 400 foot thick sand near the top of the Tulare formation is believed to be a heavy oil or tar sand. High oil prices and improved technology could now make this viable as a steamflood operation. This zone has not been produced and the first well to be drilled will evaluate its potential.
The deeper section may also contain the Monterey Formation which is oil bearing across the basin and is now subject to commercial exploitation as a non-conventional oil play. This Miocene Monterey could be prospective targets in the future.
Wellington Maricopa #6 and #7 Wells
The Wellington Maricopa #6 well was the first well to be drilled and the first successful production well to be drilled by the Maricopa Project partners in March 2008. The success of this well has been followed by Wellington Maricopa #7 in September 2008. The combined oil production from the two wells is expected to be in the range of 50 to 55 barrels of oil per day of 20.6 degree gravity oil and is being sold to Kern & Oil Co. at about US$100 per barrel.
The results at the Wellington Maricopa #6 and #7 wells confirm the primary interval trend across the acreage and provide confidence for numerous additional well locations.
Solimar Energy is now well advanced with its plans for a full field development which will include permanent production facilities and a multi-well development program to increase production and bring the field into full scale commercial production.
Figure 1: Location of the Maricopa Project at the southern end of the largest onshore oil field (Midway Sunset) in the San Joaquin Valley, California, USA.
