Area Drilling

Dec. 3, 2001
Cairn Energy Pty. Ltd. and Shell India Development Production BV reported a second discovery on Block RJ-ON-90/1 in the Barmer district of Rajasthan.

India

Cairn Energy Pty. Ltd. and Shell India Development Production BV reported a second discovery on Block RJ-ON-90/1 in the Barmer district of Rajasthan.

Cumulative stabilized flow rate was 2,075 b/d of 41-42° gravity oil from several hydrocarbon bearing zones below 1,400 m. TD is 1,837 m MD.

Based on the 28 sq km structure size and results of the well, RJ-H-1, should lead to a commercial declaration. The new well is 50 km north of the companies' Guda-2 discovery drilled in August 1999. Guda produced 2,000 b/d of light oil.

Indonesia

Lapindo Brantas Inc., a unit of the Indonesian Bakrie conglomerate, has a gas discovery in the Brantas production-sharing contract in East Java, said 50% PSC partner Novus Petroleum Ltd., Sydney.

Tanggulangin-1 is the first of three wells in the partners' exploration program. All three target the same Pleistocene play system as in nearby Wunut field, also on the block, and Pliocene zones.

The companies estimated 33 m of gas pay from Tanggulangin-1 logs in three shallow reservoir zones behind 95/8-in. casing above 1,100 m. The well also found reservoir zones with strong gas shows in open hole below 95/8-in. casing.

The lower zones were not logged because of strong gas influx at 916 m. Engineering difficulties required the well to be plugged back. The section below the casing was being abandoned in preparation for well suspension.

Novus said the well cut three gas bearing reservoirs, two of which held water in Wunut field.

Wunut started up Jan. 25, 1999. It produced 2.74 bcf during 2000. Output averaged 20.6 MMcfd the last 2 weeks in May 2001.

Nigeria

Shell Petroleum Development Co. is boosting production and reserves at Forcados Yokri in the western Niger Delta, the largest field the company operates.

Estimated ultimate recovery exceeds 1.6 billion bbl of oil. Team exercises as part of Shell's "Realising the Limit" program identified scope for at least 130 million bbl of further recovery from existing reservoirs and for the drilling, now completed, of a near-field prospect that proved 30 million bbl of additional reserves.

An optimized drilling and completion campaign is under way to push production potential to more than 240,000 b/d by 2004 from the current plan of 200,000 b/d. Also, identification of unswept areas boosted field gross capacity to 300,000 b/d.

Shell let a contract for a major gas gathering system in the area (OGJ, Aug. 13, 2001, Newsletter).

Nova Scotia

Canadian Superior Energy Inc., Calgary, started $400,000 in site work in preparation to drill a deep Jurassic Abenaki reef prospect on the Scotian shelf in early 2002.

The Marquis prospect is in 330 ft of water 20 miles northeast of giant Panuke Deep gas field, under development (see maps, OGJ, Mar. 20, 2000, p. 79). Panuke is attributed 2 tcf of gas in an Abenaki reef at 13,000 ft.

Marquis is also 121/2 miles northwest of Sable Island and 100 miles off Goldboro, N.S., on EL 2402, acquired for $22.5 million in October 2000.

Canadian Superior holds 100% interest in 934,000 acres off Nova Scotia, having acquired EL 2406 for $41.3 million and EL 2409 for $15.5 million in November 2001.