Foreign operators have started up two major field developments in the Gulf of Thailand.
Pailin, believed to be Thailand's largest and most complex single gas development scheme, came on stream late last month. Benchamas oil and gas field came on stream a little earlier in August. The projects help bolster domestic gas supplies in Thailand, which faces rapidly growing demand for gas in the coming century (see related story, p. 41).
Pailin
Pailin is being developed under a $375 million program by Unocal Thailand Ltd. The field, 160 km east of the southern province of Nakon Si Thammarat, is ramping up production that is expected to reach 165 MMcfd in the fourth quarter of this year.
A second phase, which would add another 165 MMcfd, is scheduled to come on stream in mid-2002. Unocal estimates proved gas reserves in the field at 2 tcf.
Unocal Thailand described the project as its largest and most complex single project ever undertaken and one that employs the latest technology to minimize its environmental impact. When fully developed, the field is expected to contain 30 wellhead platforms (see illustration, p. 38) and two central processing platforms (see photo on p. 40).
Gas from Pailin, Unocal Thailand's 13th producing gas field, is being sold to the Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT) under a 30-year gas sales agreement signed in 1996.
Current gas production comes fromfive wells through two wellhead platforms, with an initial output of 30 MMcfd.
Unocal Thailand Pres. Randy Howard said that, with Pailin on stream, additional gas is available to generate low-cost electricity for the kingdom: "Utilizing indigenous natural gas from projects such as Pailin in new, highly efficient gas turbines reduces the cost of electricity by 20-30%, compared with electricity generated using high-priced fuel oil or imported coal."
More than half of the electricity generated today in Thailand comes from power plants fueled by natural gas.
PTT recently completed a pipeline to connect Pailin with the Erawan-Rayong offshore trunk line.
Natural gas from Pailin is being delivered into PTT's network about 2 months before the scheduled start-up of Thailand's first independent power plant (IPP), operated by Independent Power (Thailand) Co. Ltd. (IPT), that will supply electricity to the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand's national grid. The 700-MW combined-cycle plant in Si Racha, about 125 km southeast of Bangkok, is fired by natural gas. Unocal has a 24% interest in IPT.
Discovered in 1990, Pailin field lies on Block B12/27, which encompasses an area of 3,118 sq km.
Unocal Thailand holds a 35% working interest in Pailin with co-venturers PTT Exploration & Production plc, 45%; Amerada Hess Exploration (Thailand) Co., 15%; and Moeco Thai Oil Development Co., an affiliate of Mitsui Oil Exploration, 5%.
In 1998, Unocal Thailand's gross sales volume averaged 983 MMcfd of gas and nearly 34,000 b/d of condensate. To date this year, gross sales volume averaged 973 MMcfd of gas and 32,000 b/d of condensate.
Benchamas
Benchamas came on stream under a $412 million development program spearheaded by a group led by Chevron Corp.
Average initial output from the field, located 125 miles offshore, is 35 MMcfd of natural gas and 2,200 b/d of crude oil. Production from the field is expected to rise to 75 MMcfd and 25,000 b/d by October.
Benchamas is the first new production from Block B8/32, which Chevron acquired from Rutherford Moran Oil Corp. earlier this year.
Benchamas is the second of three discovered fields on Block B8/32, which covers an area of 2,972 sq km, to come on line. Tantawan field began producing in February 1997, and Maliwan is expected to come on stream in late 2001.
Benchamas gas is sold under contract with PTT, and oil is sold via an adjacent floating storage and offloading facility.
"This is a major milestone in the development of Block B8/32 and further confirms its exciting potential," said Richard Matzke, president of Chevron Overseas Petroleum Inc. "We believe the block holds proved and potential reserves of as much as 3 tcf of gas and more than 350 million bbl of oil. This gives us a great foundation on which to further build our business in Thailand."
By the end of this year, Chevron expects total production from the block to reach 145 MMcfd of gas and more than 30,000 b/d of crude.
With estimated gas-equivalent reserves of 750 bcf, Benchamas is producing from 48 wells on three platforms. Other satellite production platforms are expected to begin production in 2000.
Chevron holds a 51.66% interest in the block and will, subject to Thai government approval, officially become operator of the concession on Oct. 1.
Chevron's partners in B8/32 include: Thaipo Ltd., a subsidiary of Pogo Producing Co., Houston, 46.34%; and Palang Sophon Ltd., owned by Thailand's Sophonpanich family, 2%.
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