|
AUSTRALIA-BASED Nido Petroleum Ltd. said the Galoc 3
horizontal production well recently flowed oil to
surface at a maximum rate of 5,397 barrels of oil per
day (bopd), a development hailed as a “milestone”
leading to production service.
The oil
flow to the surface—the first time since 1988—happened
during a cleanup flow testing on February 20 and 21.
Nido
said the Galoc oil flowed to surface unassisted,
consistent with expectations, and that its oil samples
have been collected for analysis.
“We are
excited to reach this important milestone in the Galoc
development project today. The Galoc-3 well has flowed
as designed and is now ready for production service,”
said Nido deputy managing director Joanne Williams.
Nido
also commended the Galoc Production Co. (GPC), the oil
field operator, for successfully flowing Galoc oil to
surface for the first time since 20 years ago.
Williams
said they eagerly await the results from Galoc 4 in the
coming week.
The
Galoc 3 cleanup and oil flow to surface were meant to
confirm the integrity of the well and install completion
equipment, as well as to ascertain the well’s ability to
flow.
Galoc 3
commenced flowing to surface at 9:30 a.m. Manila time on
February 20. Including cleanup, Galoc 3 flowed oil to
the drillship Energy Searcher for a total 14.5 hours and
reached a maximum flow rate of 5,397 barrels of oil per
day.
GPC
earlier said the Galoc oil field is expected to produce
a low of 5 million barrels and high of 10-million
barrels, which can take four years to drill.
Oil
samples were also collected and will be sent to a
specialist laboratory for assay and pressure, volume and
temperature analysis, which will provide confirmation of
the initial reservoir conditions; the initial fluid
properties; the reservoir formation properties; and the
potential productivity of the well to the Floating
Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel.
Nido
said its preliminary analysis of the data overnight
confirms the expected maximum flow capacity of the well
is consistent with its range of predevelopment
estimates, which will be confirmed by a full and
detailed testing, to be done once the well has been
brought into production service through the FPSO.
During
normal production operations, according to Nido,
production from Galoc 3 to the FPSO will likely be
controlled at rates below maximum capacity to manage the
reservoir effectively to maximize total recovered oil
volumes throughout the life of the field.
Nido
added the FPSO processing capacity of the combined flow
of both wells is limited to a maximum of 25,000 barrels
of oil per day.
Preparations will now commence for the installation of
the Galoc 4 subsea tree followed by similar testing of
that well.
Nido
said the installation of the mooring and riser system
and hook-up to the FPSO will follow over the coming
weeks. |
