Ramco to Drill Well Onshore Georgia
The Ziari-1 well is planned to spud in early October and drill to the planned total depth of 2,000 meters in about 30 days. The primary reservoir objectives are within the upper Jurassic carbonates that have been thrust up to a drillable depth during the uplift of the Greater Caucasus fold belt. If hydrocarbons are discovered, whether of oil and/or gas they would initially be produced into the existing infrastructure.
The integration of modern geo-technical surveys and studies including 200 km of new seismic data, gravity, and geological modeling has identified drillable prospects which have not been previously recognised in the region. A successful well at Ziari would confirm several structures along the trend as viable drilling targets. The tectonic setting and the associated potential hydrocarbon reservoirs of the Georgian foothills are analogous to similar settings and the prolific reservoirs in the Carpathians of Central Europe and the foothills of the western Canadian basin.
Kaheti Block X covers approximately 3350 sq km of the foothills of the Greater Caucasus Mountains and adjacent Alazani Valley. Since 1902, when surface oil seeps first attracted British investors to evaluate the oil potential of eastern Georgia, there are some 120 wells recorded as having been drilled within the License area. Virtually all were shallow wells limited to the depth capacity of the available drilling equipment and many were drilled during an appraisal program within the Ildokani Field area during the 1960s and 1970s. None of the previous drilling had the benefit of even modest quality seismic surveys. Fields in the Kaheti contract area are close to the critically important "transportation corridor" virtually ensuring rapid and economic access to markets for oil in the future. Discovery of gas would be welcomed by the Georgians as it could assist in the return to previous levels of power generation, which has been seriously disrupted since the early 1990s.
Ramco manages its investment in Georgia through its local operating company, Kaheti Oil Ltd., which was established under the terms of a Production Sharing Contract (PSC) with the Georgian National Oil Company and the Georgian State. Ramco holds 100% of the foreign investor interest. Ramco first entered into negotiations with the Georgian State in 1997 and the PSC between Ramco and the National Oil Company, Saknavtobi, and the Georgian State was signed on 18 December 1998.