By the OGJ Online Staff
LONDON, Apr. 25 -- Triton Energy Ltd., Dallas, reported Wednesday that it is negotiating to replace the floating, production, storage, and offloading vessel producing Ceiba field off Equatorial Guinea with a similar sister ship with expanded processing facilities.
Triton was finalizing arrangements to replace the Sendje Berge FPSO with a vessel that could meet its previously announced aim of vastly expanding the Block G production by early next year.
The upgraded vessel would have an onboard liquids-processing capacity of 160,000 b/d, rather the current 60,000 b/d, as well as water-injection facilities designed to inject up to 135,000 b/d to maintain field pressure and optimize oil recovery at the field.
"By performing the upgrade in a controlled shipyard environment, Triton expects to accomplish the expansion more cost effectively and efficiently and with less operational risk than if the additional equipment were installed on the existing vessel offshore under producing conditions," said the company.
Triton said conversion of a sister vessel into an FPSO for Ceiba is underway in the Jurong shipyard in Singapore.
Second phase Ceiba development plans also call for 14 wells to be drilled and completed at the field -- 10 producers and four water injectors by early 2002. Current production via five wells at Ceiba is 50,000 b/d.
"We are pressing ahead with our Ceiba field development program," said Jame Musselman, Triton's CEO. "The drilling of our producers and water injectors is progressing steadily."
The producing Ceiba 7 well, the first well to be completed and tested in the laminated sand facies, has confirmed that the laminated sands have "good deliverability and reservoir continuity and connectivity," said Triton.
Triton said its Ceiba 10 well, drilled as a producer, encountered 151 ft of net oil-bearing pay. "Pressure measurements in the well confirm reservoir connectivity with current producing wells and that the field is performing as expected," the company said.
The Global Marine Inc. drillship R. F. Bauer, which is batch drilling the Ceiba 9 and 10 wells, has returned to the Ceiba 9 to sidetrack it as a water-injection well. The Sedco 700 semisubmersible drilling rig is drilling another water injector, Ceiba 11.