By the OGJ Online Staff
HOUSTON, Nov. 16 -- Petro-Canada, operator of Terra Nova oil field off Newfoundland, Friday said the first well on a separate fault block east of the field found hydrocarbons.
The Terra Nova C-69 1 encountered 80 m of Jeanne d'Arc reservoir sands and confirmed the presence of hydrocarbons.
Petro-Canada said the single well was not sufficient to determine reserves in the Far East block, although predrill estimates placed the potential in the range of 100 million bbl. Proved and probable reserves of 370 million bbl are being developed in the Graben and East Flank portions of the field.
The company said although the well was not flow tested, data from logs and sampling in the well bore suggest that the sands were comparable to those of the reservoir sands in the delineated portions of the field.
Petro-Canada Executive Vice-Pres. Norm McIntyre said, "In confirming the likelihood of additional reserves in the Terra Nova field, this Far East well provides further support for the economics of the Terra Nova development. We're very pleased."
McIntyre said additional drilling is required to establish the reserve potential of the Far East and to provide the production wells needed when capacity becomes available on the Terra Nova floating production, storage and offloading vessel.
"This discovery enhances the overall ability of Terra Nova to sustain plateau production life beyond 2006, as identified in the current field development plan."
Petro-Canada operates Terra Nova with a 33.99% interest. ExxonMobil Canada Ltd. has 22%; Husky Oil Operations Ltd. 12.51%; Norsk Hydro Canada Oil & Gas Inc. 15%; Murphy Oil Co. Ltd. 12%; Mosbacher Operating Ltd. 3.5%; and Chevron Canada Resources 1%.
Terra Nova is on the Grand Banks, 350 km southeast of St. John's, Newf. Discovered in 1984, it is the second largest oil field off Canada's East Coast (after Hibernia field on the Grand Banks).
