Uchenna Izundu
International Editor
LONDON, May 12 -- The ultradeep waters of the Gulf of Mexico will be an area of significant oil production in the future, according to Steve Thurston, vice-president of Chevron North America Exploration & Production Co.
At least four projects are expected to come on stream within the next 5 years, including Royal Dutch Shell PLC's Perdido, Petroleo Brasileiro SA's (Petrobras) Cascada, Chevron's St. Malo and Jack, and BP PLC's Kaskida. The gulf has produced about 1 million b/d from its shelf for the past 30 years, but these reserves are now in decline, Thurston noted May 8 at a luncheon during the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston.
Jack holds 3 billion bbl in place and Chevron has tested 6,000 b/d of oil. It will carry out further appraisal after gathering 350 ft of net pay. So far several companies have made 14 discoveries in the Lower Tertiary system, or a 58% success rate.
Thurston said this trend would require breakthrough technology to produce hydrocarbons in an efficient and cost effective manner. "The reservoirs are very large and spread out. We need to aggregate the fluid into one host so flow assurance is a big issue. Other challenges are long distance subsea tiebacks, life cycle water management and small fields will need to get in earlier rather than later."
Operators are completing wells at 1,200 ft and want to reduce the cost and number of days needed. The trend is challenging as operators must overcome from top to bottom during drilling hurricanes, currents, unstable mud, thick salt layers, and high pressures and temperatures. "Other than that, it's pretty easy," Thurston said. Wilcox alone, in 5,000-10,000 ft of water, has a 10,000-ft salt layer.
Chevron plans to drill 13 wells on Wilcox over the coming years. It is looking at different technologies to cut investment costs, increase production rates, and reduce key uncertainties.
Contact Uchenna Izundu at [email protected].
