Uchenna Izundu
International Editor
LONDON, Oct. 11 -- Premier Oil PLC, London, will move to commercialize its Dua oil and gas field off Vietnam after learning that the oil and gas flow rates for the Dua-5X well on Block 12E were better than expected. The block is in the Nam Con Son basin 400 km southeast of Ho Chi Minh City.
A Premier spokesman told OGJ the company was not sure when oil production could begin from the block.
The company said that there were multiple gas and oil reservoirs in the southern fault block of the Dua structure. Two reservoir intervals were tested. The primary reservoir target flowed oil at a stable rate of 5,543 b/d of oil and 6.76 MMcfd of gas through a 128/64-in. choke. A deeper secondary reservoir flowed at a rate of 247 b/d of oil through a 28/64-in. choke. Neither zone produced water on test.
After finishing with Dua-5X, Premier plans to explore a large tilted fault block updip on the Blackbird prospect on Block 12E, which indicates that it is oil-prone.
Before drilling Dua-5X, Premier previously drilled the Dua-4X and Dua-4X ST1 wells in the northern fault block of Dua. "These wells were step-outs from the 1974 Dua-1X discovery well from which the main reservoir flowed at a rate of 1,500 b/d," the company said.
Premier has agreed to farmout a part of its interest to Australia's Santos Ltd. (OGJ Online, Apr. 27, 2006). Both parties are awaiting government approval. Once the deal is finalized, Premier will operate the block with a 37.5% interest in Block 12E. Other partners will be Santos 37.5% and Delek Group Ltd. 25%.
Contact Uchenna Izundu at [email protected].
