Papua New Guinea's first commercial hydrocarbon production has begun with start-up of gas and condensate flow from BP Exploration's Hides field.
Gas from the field in the Southern Highlands fuels power generation for the Porgera gold mine. Hides lies about 50 miles from Chevron Nuigini's Kutubu oil development, due on stream later this year (OGJ, Aug. 5, 1991, p. 32).
Hides condensate production is greater than expected. So the project dropped behind schedule to provide for its use.
BP is in the final stages of installing a microstill.
BP drilled two development wells and laid a 5-1/2 mile pipeline down the side of a mountain to a 42,000 kw power station at Kuru in the Tagari Valley.
The power generation unit is about 44 miles from the gold mine.
Based on the results of the first Hides well, BP estimated condensate production of about 20 b/d, which would have been flared.
But the higher condensate flow from the second Hides well and a workover of the discovery showed the two wells would produce a peak of about 300 b/d of condensate, which could not be flared.
Sales gas is expected to average about 6.2 MMcfd this year and reach a plateau of 10 MMcfd in 1994. When the topping plant is running at plateau rates it will produce about 120 b/d of diesel fuel for local sales.
About 150 b/d of naphtha will be injected into the gas stream for use in the power station turbines.
Total cost of the development is about $60 million.
BP has a 95% interest in Hides. Its partner is Oil Search Ltd. of Australia.
Copyright 1992 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.