Vienna basin discovery identifies 4.5 million boe in place

March 7, 2003
OMV AG, Vienna, has discovered an oil and gas field in the Vienna basin that it described as Austria's largest find in 25 years.


By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Mar. 25 -- OMV AG, Vienna, has discovered an oil and gas field in the Vienna basin that it described as Austria's largest find in 25 years.

The Erdpress 1 exploration well in the so-called Steinberg fault zone 35 km northeast of Vienna identified 500,000 metric tons of oil and 200 million cu m of gas in place, or a combined 4.5 million boe based on mean estimates. Appraisal drilling could add a further 3 million boe, the company said.

Oil output at Erdpress, 7 km north of Matzen field, is expected to begin late this year and continue for 15-20 years, OMV said.

"Producible oil and natural gas accumulations were found in 12 sandstone horizons while drilling to a depth of 2,926 m. . .OMV expects an initial daily production rate of around 300 boed," the company said. It plans to drill the Erdpress 2 appraisal well in the second half of 2003. Gas production will commence as development wells are drilled, starting in 2004.

The well cut six horizons in Badenian and six in Sarmatian (all Middle Miocene) at 1,300-2,500 m. Gas is sweet. Oil quality varies from 24° gravity in Sarmatian to 34° gravity in the lower Badenian horizons, and sulfur content varies from 0.14% to 0.17%.

The 3.5 million euros project cost includes drilling, start-up costs, surface equipment, and pipeline connections.

OMV did not discuss recoverable volumes, but it said the Erdpress discovery well identified a resource equal to about a third of the group's Austrian production of 14 million boe/year. It attributed the find to use of 3D seismic date and computer-aided interpretation methods.

Matzen, Europe's largest onshore oil field, was discovered in 1949 and peaked at 3.5 million metric tons/year in 1955.

OMV drilled 45 wells in the country the past 2 years, reaching the highest level of Austrian production in 20 years. It hopes to maintain Austria's output at a constant level, bucking the decline of 8%/year.

The company met 10% of Austrian oil demand and 15% of gas demand in 2001. It said Austria produced 2 billion cu m of gas and 1 million metric tons of crude oil in 2002, of which OMV's share was 57% of gas and 90% of oil.

OMV holds more than 5,000 sq km in the Vienna basin and employs 770 people in Austrian E&P, where it spends 50 million euros/year and plans an additional 16 million euros for purely exploratory purposes. It is the largest investor in the Wienviertel region and operates in 17 countries overall.