By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, July 27 – Occidental Petroleum Corp. drilled six conventional exploratory and extension wells in California in the first half of 2010, five of which were outside the company’s 2009 Kern County oil and gas discovery area (OGJ Online, Feb. 23, 2010).
Two of the wells are being tested, and Oxy plans to drill two conventional exploratory wells in the Kern discovery area the one exploratory well outside that area in the 2010 second half.
The company also drilled seven unconventional exploratory wells in the first half of the year, of which two were successful and two are being tested. It plans to drill 15 more unconventional exploratory wells in the second half.
Oxy plans to drill 23 conventional exploitation wells in the Kern discovery area in the second half after having drilled 10 in the first half. It also drilled 10 unconventional exploitation wells in California in the first half and plans 25 more in the second half.
The Elk Hills skid-mounted gas processing plant came online at the end of the second quarter, but operating issues at the existing main processing plant and related facilities are constraining Elk Hills production. Upgrades are to be in place by the end of the 2010 third quarter, and the new gas plant is expected online in early 2012.