The General Directorate of Energy Policy and Mines has authorized an extension of one year, until November 12, 2023, the term to carry out a survey for the possible opening of , located in Sotes (La Rioja), the only asset in Spain. Now that gas has become a strategic and political weapon, Spain is thus attempting to reduce dependence on foreign gas imports as much as possible, although the impact of a new well would be limited.
This is reflected in a resolution published this Tuesday in the BOE, where it is explained that the reason for this extension of the deadline to carry out the survey at this site that belongs to Naturgy is justified by the delays caused by the restrictions applied due to the pandemic. of the covid-19 pandemic.
In fact, after the authorization was granted in November 2019, the concession holders launched the preliminary work necessary to carry out the survey, launching the processes for the purchase of pipes and other long-term materials for the contracting of the tower. of drilling, with the objective at that time, to start drilling at the end of 2020.
However, the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020 and the strong restrictions on the mobility of people who settled in Europe, where most of the suppliers and contractors necessary for drilling wells come from, made it unfeasible to start execution. of the survey in the period initially planned.
The Viura site
The Viura natural gas field is located underground about 12 kilometers from Logroño. It is a geological structure made up of sandstone sedimented more than 100 million years ago, in the Cretaceous, in whose pores natural gas is lodged at a depth of about 4,000 metres.
Since then, successive layers of clay have been deposited on top of these porous sandstones, forming a perfect seal that has preserved the watertightness of this deposit.
It is estimated that it contains at least a volume of 3 BCM (or 3,000 million cubic meters of natural gas), but it is not ruled out that the storage rock could hold larger quantities. This volume would be equivalent to five years of current consumption in La Rioja or 10% of the annual consumption of natural gas in Spain.
Hydrocarbon exploration in La Rioja dates back to the fifties of the last century. Since then, many companies have dedicated significant technical resources and made large investments in this area, but without success.
In July 2010, the consortium led by Unión Fenosa Gas Exploración y Producción (58.8%), together with the Euskadi Hydrocarbons Society (37.7%) and Oil Gas Skills (3.5%), discovered a deposit of conventional natural gas, after carrying out an exploratory well called Viura-1.
This well, carried out between December 2009 and September 2010, reached a depth of 3,788 meters and, in the tests carried out after drilling, sufficient and sustained natural gas production flows were recorded that justified going ahead with the project.
In June 2013, a new exploratory well called Viura-3 was started, in the “Cameros-2” permit, located in the municipality of Hornos de Moncalvillo, 1.3 kilometers from Viura-1, in order to confirm the continuity side of the reservoir and its total thickness, as well as to determine the connectivity between both wells.
This well, drilled between June 24, 2013 and January 7, 2014, reached a total depth of 4,256 meters, cutting the entire thickness of the Viura deposit (466 meters) with excellent signs of gas.
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