BANGKOK�Royal Dutch/Shell Group has decided to revive production at Nang Nuan field on block B6/27 in the Gulf of Thailand.
The field was shut in 3 years ago. Earlier this year, the company began reconsidering the project because of favorable reassessment of geological data, as well as rising oil prices (OGJ Online, June 21, 2000).
Through its local unit Thai Shell Exploration & Production, the firm intends to begin work on the Nang Nuan structure in the first quarter.
Shell will re-enter Nang Nuan B01, a well that produced 4.25 million bbl of oil over 4 years. Output from B01 was halted in January 1997 because water intrusion damaged the oil reservoir.
Shell will also drill an exploration well near Nang Nuan, which is off the Chumphon coast in about 30 m of water.
Thai Shell hopes to resume oil production from the re-entered well at 12,000 b/d, the well's former peak, during the third quarter of next year.
Nang Nuan will use the same production system as before, a tripod platform and a floating storage vessel.
Thai Shell expects to spend at least $4 million for the revived drilling campaign and several million more on the offshore production facilities.
Meanwhile, Thai Shell is working to sustain oil output from its onshore Sirikit field in the northern section of the country at 24,000 b/d next year.
