Americas
BP Alaska Exploration Inc. is considering a “super rig” to drill potential record-breaking extended-reach wells to produce the Liberty oil field, located 5 mi off Alaska’s northern coast. Liberty is in federal Outer Continental Shelf waters in Foggy Island Bay, east of the large Prudhoe Bay oil field.
BP’s current plan involves producing the field from wells drilled from shore rather than building an artificial gravel island offshore. If implemented, wells reaching Liberty’s underground reservoir from shore would have to be drilled as far as 40,000 ft laterally from the surface location of the rig, making it a world record, says the company.
BP is also the current record holder, with 35,000-ft lateral wells at its Wytch Farm oil field in the UK North Sea.
BP Alaska Wells and Drilling Manager Gary Christman says this distance is well beyond the capability of the big rigs currently on the North Slope. BP would have to undertake major modifications to one of the rigs on the Slope or build a new rig big enough to effectively lift 1.5 million to 2 million lb. The largest rigs on the Slope now can handle one-half to one-third that amount.
If the proposal moves ahead, engineering would likely take place in 2007, and permit applications would be made in 2008. Fabrication of needed equipment, including the new rig or modification to an existing rig, would take place in 2008 to 2010.
Liberty’s first production with the super rig would occur in 2010 or 2011.
BP acquired the field from Shell in September 1996. Shell had built an artificial island called Tern Island over the field, but initial results from a discovery well were not economically promising with the available technology. BP finally shelved the idea of developing the field with an offshore island in August of this year.
Africa
Doris Engineering has received a contract valued at $38 million for work associated with the Moho Bilondo oil development project in Congolese waters offshore West Africa. The development is operated by Total E&P Congo 53.5%, together with Chevron Overseas Congo Ltd., 31.5%, and SNPC (Société Nationale des Pétroles Congolais) 15%.
In July, Total E&P awarded a contract in the range of $400 million to $500 million to Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) for the engineering, procurement, construction, and installation of the floating production unit (FPU) to be used for production in approximately 600 m of water at a rate of 90,000 b/d.
HHI has subcontracted a portion of this work to Doris. Doris will complete the front-end detailed design of the FPU topsides facilities - a contract valued at approximately $5 million. It has also been awarded a $33-million turnkey contract for the design, fabrication, and installation of the mooring system of the FPU.
Topsides design work will begin immediately and is scheduled to be completed by 1Q 2006. Procurement, fabrication and installation of the mooring system are expected to be completed by August 2007.
The Republic of Togo’s Minister of Mines, Energy and Water launched a bid round on Nov. 2, 2005, for petroleum permits in block B, a 4,000-sq km area in deep waters off the Togolese coastline. Deadline for bids is May 1, 2006.
Asia-Pacific
Timor-Leste’s Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri assured global oil and gas investors in mid-November of his government’s competitive and transparent legal and contractual regime for developing resources in the Timor Sea.
Welcoming more than 70 executives to a two-day workshop on the country’s first round of bidding for concessions, he pledged a high standard of professionalism and dedication to companies participating in the bidding round.
The bidding round area is under Timor-Leste’s exclusive jurisdiction and is distinct from the area of overlapping claims of the Greater Sunrise field development that has been the subject of talks between Timor-Leste and Australia.
“Our willingness to engage in good faith negotiations to resolve this dispute is a mark of the commitment and determination of my government to develop this nation. I can inform you today that I believe this process can be concluded in one to two months,” he said.
The field lies just 150 km from the Timor-Leste coastline compared with almost 300 km from Australia.
The Joint Petroleum Development Area (JPDA) comes under a parallel regime that was developed with the Australian government.
The government opened bidding in September on 11 blocks in Timor-Leste’s exclusive maritime area. Bids must be submitted by March 15, 2006, and the government will announce the successful bids in mid-June.
The Timor Sea Designated Authority has also opened bidding on four blocks in the JPDA.
Anzon Australia Ltd. began production from the Basker field in offshore Gippsland basin, Victoria.
The Basker-2 well was opened up Nov. 14 and soon was flowing oil to surface via a subsea completion and 1.9 km flow line to the FPSO,Crystal Ocean.
The initial flow rate from the upper interval of a completion optionally capable of producing from either one or two intervals was established at 9,500 b/d of oil with no water production and was accompanied by approximately 10 MMcf/d of solution gas.
The inlet choke pressure on the FPSO was 1,400 psig.
This development is in 155 m water depth, 75 km offshore in the Bass Strait, and involves the first FPSO in the Gippsland basin.
The participants in the BMG Joint Venture are Anzon Australia Ltd. 62.5% (operator) and Beach Petroleum Ltd 37.5%.•
