Drilling/Production news briefs, Oct. 18

Oct. 18, 2000
KCS Energy � Esenjay Exploration � Shell Exploration & Production � Delmar Systems � Weatherford International � BP � Marathon Petroleum Jenein � Crosco Integrated Drilling & Well Services � Oil Field Services


KCS Energy Inc. said that two new wells in the Mt. Lebanon field in Bienville Parish, La., began production in October, bringing total production from the field to 15.9 MMcfd of gas and 88 b/d of condensate from a Hosston interval. The LA Minerals No. 1 well is producing at 6.7 MMcfd of gas and 60 b/d of condensate, the Lathan Heirs No. 1 well is producing 2.7 MMcfd of gas and 28 b/d of condensate, and the Willamette No. 1 well�which began production in March�is producing 6.5 MMcfd of gas. Another well in the field, Sutton Hunter No. 1, is being logged. KCS owns varying interests in these wells.

Esenjay Exploration Inc. has drilled 12 wells on its Raymondville exploration project in Wallacy County, Tex., this year. Nine are producing, and three wells drilled before Jan. 1 are also producing. Combined production is 15 MMcfd of gas and 35 b/d of natural gas liquids from 19 Frio reservoirs, said Esenjay.

Shell Exploration & Production Co. and Delmar Systems Inc., Broussard, La., broke the world record depth for moored vessels by 221 ft when they moored the newly built semisubmersible drilling rig RB Deepwater Nautilus in 7,790 ft of water in the Gulf of Mexico, claimed Delmar. The previous record was 7,569 ft, set by Delmar and Shell earlier this year with the Transocean Marianas. The mooring system included eight 12-ft diameter by 60-ft long suction anchors embedded in the seafloor and attached to 12,000 ft of 3.75-in. wire rope. Each leg of the pre-set mooring system includes three submersible syntactic foam buoys.

Weatherford International Inc., Houston, reported Monday that its completion systems division has installed and expanded the world's longest open hole horizontal expandable sand screen (ESS) for BP in the Foinaven A field, located off Scotland in the North Sea's Faroe-Shetland basin 120 miles west of the Shetland Islands. The ESS was run in well 204/24a-AN (P11) from the semisubmersible rig Transocean Leader in 500 m of water. The P11 well is a horizontal oil producer that was sidetracked from an appraisal well. Plans for a second such installation at Foinaven are currently underway.

Marathon Petroleum Jenein Ltd. has hired Crosco Integrated Drilling & Well Services Co. Ltd. and Oil Field Services to drill in the southern Tunisian desert on its South Jenein permit.