Louisiana: Saratoga upgrades Main Pass 25 facilities

July 15, 2013
Saratoga Resources Inc., Houston, has upgraded facilities to enable its Main Pass 25 field offshore Louisiana to return to optimal uninterrupted production.

Saratoga Resources Inc., Houston, has upgraded facilities to enable its Main Pass 25 field offshore Louisiana to return to optimal uninterrupted production.

For nearly 6 months the company has experienced production curtailments that resulted from third-party handling issues and temporary lack of gas lift. Saratoga has installed a four-pile jacket and deck and an oil storage barge to handle the field’s production.

The facility upgrade is designed to allow lower system operating pressure, which is expected to result in increased well productivity. The upgrade also is expected to allow Saratoga to handle additional third-party production and add gas supply for gas lift while reducing operating costs through direct cost savings and cost sharing for common use systems.

Meanwhile, the company on May 27 began its production enhancement program that involves tubing replacement, recompletions, workovers, gas lift optimization, and gravel pack remediation in Grand Bay and Breton Sound 32 fields.

That program is on track, and the company has completed and brought to productive status five of six wells that have undergone tubing changeouts. Those wells are being evaluated relative to additional work to optimize production that may entail, among other operations, chemical stimulation to clean up existing perforations and improve hydrocarbon inflow and additional perforations.

Only one PEP well to date was unsuccessful due to split casing, and that well has been temporarily abandoned for future work. Combined initial production rates from the five successful PEP wells was 92 b/d of oil equivalent. One well is expected to add proved developed producing reserves, and potential new perforations in two other wells are also expected to add reserves.

Costs are below authorization for expenditure by 3% on PEP projects to date, including the unsuccessful job, and under AFE by 11% on successful jobs only. Payout of the PEP projects completed to date is estimated at 8.9 months, including the unsuccessful job, based on initial production rates and without chemical stimulation or additional perforations that are expected to hike production and accelerate payout.

The cost of expected recovery from the PEP wells to date is estimated at $20.29/boe.