Pantheon Resources makes significant North Slope discovery

(Sharecast News) - Pantheon Resources has announced a significant discovery at its Megrez-1 well, located in the Ahpun oil field on Alaska's North Slope, on Tuesday. The AIM-traded company said the well had reached its target depth, and been cased in preparation for long-term production testing, scheduled to begin in early 2025.

Initial analysis indicated the presence of multiple hydrocarbon-bearing zones over a 1,260-foot vertical interval, confirming the discovery of light liquid hydrocarbons.

The firm said the findings revealed hydrocarbons within the Maastrichtian-aged Top Set and Prince Creek formations.

Two key intervals, known as Top Set 1 and Top Set 3, contained light liquid hydrocarbons at depths between 5,950 and 6,700 feet true vertical depth.

Additionally, hydrocarbons were identified in shallower formations within the Prince Creek interval over a 510-foot vertical section.

Reservoir porosities exceeding 20% were seen in key sections, aligning with expectations set prior to drilling.

Operations were completed on schedule and within budget, gathering an extensive dataset for further evaluation.

That, the board said, included the recovery of a 60-foot whole core from the Top Set 3 interval, 50 sidewall cores, and detailed wireline logs.

It said the samples had been sent to independent laboratories for analysis, with preliminary results expected by February.

The insights gained would inform the design of Pantheon's planned long-term production testing program.

Pantheon said the discovery was strategically located near pipeline and transportation infrastructure, enhancing its development potential.

The Nabors-105AC rig, used for drilling, remained stationed at the Megrez-1 site, ready to support testing and further development.

"This is an excellent result, justifying our assessment of both the geological chances of success and the likelihood of encountering commercially viable resources," said technical director Bob Rosenthal.

"We are now evaluating the extensive data gathered in the well, which will take some time, but will provide us with maximum information to design well testing."

Rosenthal said Tony Beilman and the team had "done a great job" in delivering the well on time and budget, including gathering a full suite of wireline logs and a whole core.

"It's early days in the evaluation of the well results.

"The full significance of these results will become clearer once the data are analysed and after production testing, expected during the first quarter of 2025."

At 1051 GMT, shares in Pantheon Resources were up 2.17% at 28.65p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.