CALGARY, AB–(Marketwired – March 07, 2017) – Front Range Resources Ltd. (“Front Range” or the “Company“) (TSX VENTURE: FRK) is pleased to report that drilling operations at the 6-28-52-22 W5M Hz (“6-28“) Basal Montney well (100% W.I.) at East Pepper, Alberta have been completed and the completion system and liner have successfully been installed.
Preparatory work on the 6-28 well for completion operations will continue this week with fracturing operations to follow pending availability of services and subject to weather conditions. Such operations are currently projected to be completed in early April 2017 as recent weather and temporary road bans exacerbated by seasonal work load have generated delays in accessing pressure pumping services in Western Canada.
The 6-28 Basal Montney well was drilled to a total measured depth of 4,385 metres and the completion, with 18 frac stages planned, is intended to confirm horizontal scalability and proof of concept in the emerging South Montney Trend. The Basal Montney was previously tested in the 102/3-21-52-22 W5M vertical Montney well at a rate of 550 mscf/d of natural gas with 29 barrels/mmscf of free condensate and up to an additional 30 barrels/mmscf of natural gas liquids (recoverable through shallow cut natural gas processing) at a flowing casing pressure of 293 kPa (47 psi). This test rate was obtained from a single 60-tonne frac in the vertical wellbore and represents the last 24 hours of the 141.5 hour flow test period.
The West Pepper Upper Montney discovery well (100% W.I.) at 3-26-52-23 W5M(1) (“3-26”) is being prepared for production. A static gradient survey was carried out which indicated that the 3-26 well had a bottomhole pressure of 43,500 kPa (6,300 psi) — which represents 20% over-pressure. Following the pressure survey, 3,800 meters of 23/8” tubing was run into the well to ready it for production. The 3-26 well was opened to flow after the tubing was installed and proceeded to unload a full wellbore of load fluid and then flowed at a rate of 6 mmscf/d increasing to 7.5 mmscf/d at 16,500 kPa (2,400 psi) over several hours through the 23/8” tubing. Tie-in costs, equipment procurement, and construction details for the 650 metre tie-in of 3-26 are in the process of being finalized and, subject to approval of a final budget by the Board of Directors, construction is expected to commence in Q2, 2017.
The Company has commissioned an independent resource study, expected to be completed by early April 2017, to quantify the scale of the Montney resource potential attributable to Front Range’s interests covering its Pepper property.
(1) see News Release dated January 11, 2017
Further information relating to the Company is also available on its website at www.frrl.ca.