Alan Petzet
Chief Editor-Exploration and Economics
HOUSTON, Mar. 12 -- Forest Oil Corp. and Anschutz International, Denver, will soon announce a contract to sell gas from Ibhubesi field in the Orange basin off South Africa, said John McIntyre, senior vice-president of international new ventures for Forest Oil International's Houston office.
Speaking to the American Association of Petroleum Geologists annual convention Tuesday in Houston, McIntyre said that no baseload market is available, but the companies are sure the overall market is sufficient to support the $1.4 billion project.
Contractually committed to one well, Forest and Anschutz drilled four wells and established the existence of a large stratigraphic trap. The companies see 1.6 tcf of proved and probable reserves in Ibhubesi field and eventually as much as 15 tcf of recoverable gas on Block 2, where they have identified 176 prospects (OGJ, Mar. 4, 2002, p. 38).
The Ibhubesi reservoir has 23% original porosity, 375 md permeability, and 60-70% water saturation from logs, but the formation is rich in chlorite, which binds the water.
The development project will involve a mini-tension leg platform with compression and liquids stripping facilities. A pipeline will be built to shore at Saldanha, South Africa, and then to an electric power peaking plant in Cape Town.
Gas production is to start in 2004. The pipeline could be extended 310 km to the Mossgas gas-liquids plant along Mossel Bay in 2006.
McIntyre noted that the Orange basin is sparsely explored, and in terms of rock volume, is the second largest basin on the West African margin.
He said Forest and Anschutz have halved drilling costs to $4.5 million/well since drilling their first well and see the potential for large additional cost reduction.