Black Gold starts drilling in the Illinois Basin
Black Gold Exploration announced that drilling has commenced on the Fritz 2-30 oil and gas well in Clay County, Indiana. Earlier this month, BGX acquired a 10% working interest in the well and an option to participate in any offset developmental wells in a 210-acre area of mutual interest from the operator, Adler Energy.
This prospect offsets the Fritz 1 well, which was drilled about 17 years ago and discovered both oil and gas pay horizons, but never produced due to a variety of factors, including a drop in oil prices at the time. The well is in a known productive oil zone known as the Terra Haute Reef Bank, in Southwestern Indiana.
The Illinois Basin has a history of producing 10–12 million barrels of oil annually. Adler has completed an 8 sq mi 3D seismic evaluation of the area, including the Fritz 2-30, showing both shallow and deeper stacked pay horizons. The well plans to test a minimum of ten potential oil pay zones. Deep seated fractures clearly visible on 3D seismic are demonstrating migratory pathways for oil into multiple zones with high porosity, including the Devonian, Trenton, St. Peter Sand, Black River and the Knox. These zones all show over 100 ft of closure, giving room for large reservoirs of oil.
