ALTON - A second attempt at finding oil in the Alton area has come up dry for Forent Energy Ltd.
"While disappointing, the company will use this information to refine its geological and geophysical models as it continues its exploration endeavors on the Alton Block," the Calgary-based group said in a news release issued Monday.
"Forent believes that the Alton #1 well, drilled earlier this year, is a possible re-entry candidate and will assess the viability of drilling directionally from the existing well-bore to further evaluate the Gays River reef encountered at that location. In addition, it must be recognized that all of the 10 to 15 geophysical anomalies that have been identified on the Alton Block are distinct exploration opportunities, such that a lack of success at any one does not rule out the potential for success at a different location."
The South Branch well was positioned on a geophysically determined basement high anomaly where a Gays River reef was anticipated to have been deposited," the statement said. "The well encountered a structurally high basement, however no Gays River reef was detected and no significant hydrocarbon accumulations were observed."
Forent Energy announced in early March that it had discovered the presence of hydrocarbons, both natural gas and liquids, and potentially crude oil as well at the first site.
Although the test well did not produce evidence of enough of either substance to make it a commercially viable site in that particular bore, company president Tom Lester said at the time that he remained confident that the area will eventually produce commercial quantities.
He said the company's evidence shows there are 10 to 12 underground reefs in the area, which are millions of years old, and which he believes do contain commercially viable and obtainable levels of petroleum substances.
