What's new in production

	Vol. 229 No. 8
VICTOR SCHMIDT, DRILLING ENGINEERING EDITOR, schmidtv@worldoil.com

Saudi production expands

Saudi Arabian Oil Co. plans to expand pumping capacity up to 15 million bpd of oil, as needed by the market, and to explore and develop new fields over the next five years. To support this effort, the company will invest $129 billion, according to Saudi Oil Minister Ali Naimi. The company will bring one new field online and increase output from two others by the end of 2008.

Khursaniyah Field will come onstream next month with the potential to add 500,000 bpd of oil. Increased production at Nuayyim and Shaybah oil fields will add up to 350,000 bopd to that potential flow, also by year’s end. The recently developed Nuayyim Field will reach 100,000 bopd of output, while Shaybah Field output will expand to 750,000 bopd from its present 500,000 bopd flow. This new production will offset reduced production from other OPEC nations.

Larger oil flows are planned for 2009 when two new large fields are scheduled to come online. Khurais Field is planned as a 1.2 million bopd project, which should start producing next June. Adjacent to Kuwait in the Neutral Zone, Manifa Field is scheduled to begin adding 900,000 bopd of heavy oil to the market. These developments will raise Aramco’s daily output to 12.5 million bopd from its present 11.3 million bopd.

PROJECTS

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) and ConocoPhillips have an agreement to develop sour natural gas and condensate zones in the Shah Field some 111 mi southwest of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. According to news reports, the gas contains 20-30% hydrogen sulfide. A 1 Bcfgd sour-gas processing plant will be built at Shah to strip out the sulfur and yield 570 MMcfd of sweet gas. In addition, sulfur-exporting facilities and pipelines will be built at Ruwais, UAE.

Under the agreement the companies will share front-end engineering and design cost and project mobilization expenses for the field’s projected $10 billion cost. A new company will be formed by ADNOC (60%) and ConocoPhillips (40%) to operate the field and facilities. Final joint venture agreements are expected by the end of 2008.

In Iran, National Iranian South Oil is planning to spend $3.5 billion over five years to develop 18 new fields. Four fields will be studied first: Assaluyeh (onshore), Dey, Kouhmund and Sefid Zakhur, whose field reserves were recently reevaluated upward to 11.4 Tcf of natural gas. Other fields being considered are Babaghir, Ban, Changuleh, Gordan, Kangan, Koul, Mokhtar, Sahand, Shakheh, Salakh, Suru, West Namak, Viznahar and Zireh.

National Iranian Oil Co. in partnership with the Oman Oil Co. will develop Kish Field beneath Kish Island, Iran. The companies will begin development of the 48 Tcf gas field with 12 appraisal wells, which will be completed by summer 2011. The companies plan a phased development. The first phase will bring 2 Bcfd online that will be split equally between the Iranian and Omani markets.

NEW OUTPUT

Naryanmarneftegaz began oil production from Yuzhno-Khylchuyuskoye Field in the Timan-Pechora area, northwest Russia. Lukoil with 70% and ConocoPhillips with 30% formed the Naryanmarneftegaz joint venture. According to Lukoil, the field has reserves of more than 500 million barrels and will yield 150,000 bpd of 35.5° API oil by next year. Oil is piped to the Varandey oil export terminal on the Barents Sea from which it goes to market by reinforced tanker, due to icy waters.

Also in Russia, ZAO Achimgaz, a joint venture of Gazprom and Wintershall Holding AG, began producing gas and condensate at Urengoi Field in Yamal-Nenets autonomous district. The field is delivering 81 MMcfd from three wells.

China National Offshore Oil Corp., operator with 100%, started production from Xijiang 23-1 Field in Block XJ 04 in the South China Sea flowing at 31,000 bopd from 10 wells. The 15-well field is in the Pearl River Mouth Basin and produces to an FPSO from a single platform. The remaining wells will be brought on line at a later time to increase output to 40,000 bopd.

The company also started the WenChang 19-1 Field. It produces 14,000 bpd of oil from seven wells. The Wen oil fields (19-1, 15-1, 14-3 and 8-3) are in the Pearl River Mouth Basin in the western South China Sea.

BHP started producing from Neptune Field in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. The field’s TLP is some 120 mi offshore Louisiana in Green Canyon Block 613 and has a capacity of 50,000 bopd and 50 MMcfd of natural gas. Six subsea wells in 4,250-ft water depth are tied back to the TLP. Produced oil is sent through the Ceasar pipeline and gas goes through the Cleopatra line. BHP has 35% and is operator with partners Marathon (30%), Woodside Energy (USA) Inc. (20%) and Maxus Exploration (15%).

StatoilHydro started producing Oseberg Delta and Theta Cook Fields some eight miles northwest of Bergen, Norway, in the North Sea. Together the fields will produce about 18,000 boepd. Theta Cook is producing from the Cook formation to the Oseberg C platform from which it was drilled. Oseberg Delta’s first well produces oil from a 65-ft zone. A second well will begin producing 7,000 bopd in the fall and the field template has space for two more wells. StatoilHydro is operator (49.3%) with partners Petoro (33.6%), Total (10%), Mobil (4.7%) and ConocoPhillips (2.4%).

Newfield Exploration began producing oil from Chermingat and East Belumut Fields offshore eastern Malaysia in Block PM 323. The fields will increase output to 15,000 bopd. Newfield is operator with 50% with partner Petronas (50%). On adjacent Block PM 318, Petronas, operator with 100%, began producing from Puteri Field at more than 6,000 bopd.

ConocoPhillips began producing oil from Qannik Field on the North Slope of Alaska. The field is some two miles west of the Alpine processing plant and will produce 4,000 bopd from eight horizontal wells. ConocoPhillips operates with 78%, while partner Anadarko holds the remaining 22%.

Beach Petroleum started production at Parsons Oil Field in PEL 92 in the Cooper Basin, South Australia. The first well produced 2,640 bopd with a flowing pressure of 154 psi through a ½-in choke and a second well will come on soon. Beach is operator with 75% with Cooper Energy as partner with 25%. The operator expects the field to produce more than 1.4 million bbl of oil.