Australian oil and gas company Buccaneer Energy has announced plans to advance the next phase of development in the Fauke area of the Pine Mills field in Texas, USA.
The company plans to implement a secondary oil recovery scheme (waterflood) in the Phokee area, where it has a 32.5% working interest, using water injection.
This decision follows a technical review of Alar #1 and the recent acquisition of adjacent acreage.
Buccaneer said the waterflood scheme would use the Turner #1 and Daniel #1 wells as dedicated injection points.
These two wells are located on the downdip edges of a productive reservoir interval, which the company has identified as suitable for water injection.
The newly acquired lease provides the necessary locations to begin this phase.
By injecting water, Buccaneer aims to increase reservoir pressure, which is expected to stabilize and improve oil recovery rates from the field.
The company has been using waterflooding in the Pine Mills region for more than five decades. Baseline recovery in the area reached 333,851 barrels (bbl) of oil by September 2025.
Buccaneer estimates that 667,000 – 1,002,000bbl of recoverable oil may be recovered from the water inflow.
The Turner #1 well will return to production before the waterflood system is operational, providing additional production during the preparation phase, the company said.
In the Pine Mills field and surrounding areas, primary recovery is typically 5–20% of the original oil in place, with an average of 15%.
According to the company, waterflood operations have historically increased recovery rates between 30% and 50% over original oil wells.
Buccaneer expects similar improvements in the Fuquay area, with recoverable volumes expected to increase by two to three times.
The Company plans to drill the Focke #4 well and align the Alar #1 well following the commissioning of the waterflood system.
Before the start of water injection, the Texas Railroad Commission is required to form a waterflood unit, which includes all leaseholders and royalty owners in the area.
Buccaneer expects the process of setting up the unit and constructing the waterflood facilities to take up to six months.
Meanwhile, the company will resume production from Turner #1, which will support field output as manufacturing continues.
Paul Welch, CEO of Buccaneer Energy, said: “The decision to begin waterflooding in the Fouke area is an important step forward in maximizing long-term value from our Pine Mills assets. Waterflooding has a proven track record in these reservoirs, and we believe the Turner #1 and Daniel #1 wells support a high-precision recovery scheme.”