AED starts oil production at Puffin North East field

Oct. 8, 2007
AED Oil has brought its Puffin North East oil field in the Timor Sea on stream via two wells connected to the Front Puffin FPSO vessel.

Rick Wilkinson
OGJ Correspondent

MELBOURNE, Oct. 8 -- AED Oil Ltd., Melbourne, has brought its Puffin North East oil field in the Timor Sea on stream via two wells connected to the Front Puffin floating production, storage, and offloading vessel.

Facilities commissioning was recently completed, and the Puffin-7 and Puffin-8 wells have been brought on stream.

AED has gradually increased the total flow to an interim 27,000 b/d and will progress over the coming weeks to a stabilized production rate.

Field reserves are estimated at 40 million bbl of oil.

Meanwhile, the company has mobilized the Wilcraft newbuild jack up to the Puffin-10 location, which is designed as a production well in the separate Puffin South West accumulation.

The objective will be to drill and complete a horizontal section with a reservoir interval of more than 200 million bbl in the Upper Cretaceous sands. AED expects it will take 55 days to drill and complete the well, which lies in 84 m of water.

Production from Puffin-10 will be directed through a second FPSO, the Modec Venture, which is expected to come on stream during first half 2008. Puffin South West reserves are pegged at 40 million bbl.

AED has 100% interest in the Puffin AC-L6 production license as well as the surrounding exploration permit AC-P22.

However, Norwest Energy Ltd., Perth, holds a 1.25% overriding royalty interest in Puffin production.