Ranger Oil Ltd., Calgary, said the Ft. Liard P-66A well began production May 7 at 20 MMcfd. Production is expected to increase to 40 MMcfd over the following week. Ranger Oil operates the well with a 50% interest. Forest Oil Corp. holds the other half. Forest notes the well came on stream 2 months earlier than expected.
BP Amoco PLC and Petroleo Brasiliero SA let a $59 million contract to Navis ASA, Stavanger, to use the newbuild ultradeepwater drillship Navis Explorer I to drill off Brazil and Trinidad in 2,700 m of water. The drilling program should take about 1 year. The drillship has left the Samsung Yard in South Korea for Brazil.
Texaco Inc. let a drilling contract to the Precision Drilling International (PDI) subsidiary of Precision Drilling Corp., Calgary, to drill in North Buzachi oil field in western Kazakhstan's Mangistau province. PDI will mobilize an automated slant rig, PD 709, in early June after completing rig modifications in Canada to meet contract requirements. Precision said Rig 709 is particularly suitable for drilling environmentally sensitive and difficult-to-access locations. The rig will be used to complete Phase 2 of the North Buzachi field appraisal program, requiring the drilling of vertical, directional, and horizontal wells. Precision operates more than 220 rigs in Canada, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, and Oman. Precision said the Kazakh contract is a part of its strategy of international diversification.