Dragon offshore Caspian Turkmen well program extended to injection, abandonment
Offshore staff
ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan – Dragon Oil aims to complete 13-15 wells and perform two workovers this year on its Cheleken Contract Area fields in the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea.
This target depends on rig availability. The company says it retains flexibility in its drilling program and will optimize it as the year progresses.
Last year Dragon drilled and completed 15 wells on theDzheitune (Lam) field, deploying rigs on the new Dzheitune (Lam) C platform and at spare capacity on the Dhzeitune (Lam) 28, A and 13 platforms.
Targets drilled were mostly in shallow layers, with single or dual completions or side tracks of existing wells. Shorter drilling times meant more wells could be completed during the period.
The company may return to drill deeper targets in the future. It continues to assess the subsurface targets and drills to various depths based on hydrocarbon distribution and oil reserves in every zone.
Dragon had three rigs operating for much of 2012. Of these, ajackup will remain on contract to the company through May 2015. The contract for a leased platform-based rig has been extended to complete another three wells.
In 2011, a preliminary water injection study was completed for the Dzheitune (Lam) 75 area using a dynamic simulation model. Based on the results, an injectivity test was conducted in June 2011.
One of the wells in the target Dzheitune (Lam) 75 area has been converted to an injector-type well and will soon start injection of water and monitoring as part of a pilot waterflood project. Similar activities are going ahead in the Dzheitune (Lam) 13 area.
During the current quarter, modules for the new Dzhygalybeg (Zhdanov) A platform modules will mobilize to the field and the platform should be ready to drill in the second half of this year using aplatform-based rig.
The Dzhygalybeg (Zhdanov) B platform, undergoing assembly in Dragon Oil’s yard in the harbor area in Hazar, Turkmenistan, also should be installed during the second half of 2013, with drilling starting later in the year. Both platforms have 16 slots, eight for drilling with a jackup, and eight using a land rig.
Finally, Dragon has P&A’d two old non-producing wells as part of its first-phase program of P&A and decommissioning in the Cheleken Contract Area. Up to 13 non-producing wells will be logged for evaluation before being completely P&A’d.
2/12/2013
