Denbury Resources Inc., Plano, Tex., estimated its production in the quarter ended Mar. 31 to have been 71,532 b/d of oil equivalent, 93% oil and an 8% increase from the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2011.
Carbon dioxide tertiary floods accounted for 33,257 b/d of output in the latest quarter, up 7% from the previous quarter. Bakken production was 15,114 boe/d, up 29%.
Sequential growth in tertiary oil production was mainly driven by new tertiary floods at Oyster Bayou and Hastings fields in Texas and a sooner-than-anticipated production response at Tinsley field in Mississippi.
By field, tertiary oil production estimates for the first quarter of 2012 are 877 b/d at Oyster Bayou, 618 b/d at Hastings, and 7,297 b/d at Tinsley. Bakken production growth was the result of the company’s drilling program and favorable winter operating conditions in that area.
Excluding the contribution from noncore assets divested to date in 2012, first quarter 2012 production would have been 2% lower at 69,773 boe/d. As a result of the noncore asset sales, Denbury has revised downward its estimate of 2012 production by 2% to 68,625 to 73,625 boe/d from 70,250 to 75,250 boe/d.
Denbury noted that while tertiary production at Heidelberg field in Mississippi fell slightly sequentially, the company is starting to see positive signs there related to the conformance work performed in the second half of 2011 and expects continuing positive results later this year.