Abstract: Yemen: From Discovery to Production in Three Years

C. M. Wickens, M. Larsen, G. Kendall, K. Kowalchuck

Exploration success on the Masila Block, which began with Sunah-1 in late 1990, led to the discovery of eleven oil fields by the end of 1993. The fields are the first commercial quantities of hydrocarbons to be found in this eastern area of Yemen. Oil began flowing along a 138 km pipeline in July, 1993.

The three main oil bearing reservoirs in this area are (a) the Qishn Clastics, an early Cretaceous fluvial/deltaic sequence, (b) a basal sandstone of Jurassic age, and (c) a fractured granitic basement. The most significant reservoirs are the sandstones of the Qishn Clastics and it is the oil in these reservoirs that prompted the Declaration of Commerciality in December, 1991.

The integration of some 1800 km of 2-D seismic data, acquired over spectacular terrain, together with over 40 exploration, appraisal and development wells drilled since 1990, has led to the current understanding of the structural and stratigraphic relationships of the fields. The combined use of seismic data, wireline data and core data has permitted the optimization of well locations during the early fast track development stage and its successful completion.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90986©1994 AAPG Annual Convention, Denver, Colorado, June 12-15, 1994