Uchenna Izundu
OGJ International Editor
LONDON, Apr. 23 -- Chinese National Offshore Oil Co. (CNOOC) will be responsible for decommissioning Lufeng oil field 250 km southeast of Hong Kong in the South China Sea.
The field is scheduled to shut down later this year, and operating partner StatoilHydro will relinquish its 75% interest to CNOOC.
By the end of 2008, Lufeng 22-1 had produced 42 million bbl of oil since it started production 11 years ago. Originally it was expected to produce 25 million bbl, but sidetrack drilling of three wells enabled the partners to prolong the field's life. Output increased from 6,000-10,000 b/d.
StatoilHydro said transferring responsibility would enable it to focus on new growth opportunities with CNOOC.
The field produces 2,000 b/d of 33.3° gravity oil via three sidetrack wells and five subsea horizontal wells drilled through a seabed template in 333 m of water. Processing equipment on deck stabilizes oil from the subsea wells for storage in the ship's cargo tanks before transfer to conventional shuttle tankers for shipment to land.
Lufeng 22-1 was discovered in 1983 by Occidental Petroleum Corp. Sydney-based Ampolex Ltd. took over in 1991 and sold its interests to Statoil in 1996. The field was brought on stream in 1997.
Contact Uchenna Izundu at [email protected].
