Houston independent Apache Corp. reported the start of production from its Garten development on Block 9/18a Area-W in the UK North Sea. The discovery well, 6 km south of the Beryl Alpha platform, was placed on production in late November, less than 8 months after being drilled in March (OGJ Online, Mar. 23, 2018).
The discovery well at Garten encountered a downthrown structural closure with 778 ft of net oil pay in stacked, high-quality, Jurassic-aged sandstone reservoirs. The well is currently producing 13,700 b/d of oil and 15.7 MMcfd of natural gas from the Beryl sand. Two lower zones also were tested, and all three zones will be commingled to maximize recovery, the company said.
Recoverable resource is expected to exceed 10 million bbl of light oil plus associated natural gas. Apache has 100% working interest in the Garten block.
In addition to being brought online ahead of the original target of first-quarter 2019, the field is “a unique technical achievement and represents Apache’s most complex smart well completion to date,” said Jon Graham, region vice-president, North Sea.
Garten is tied back to the Beryl Alpha platform, 180 miles northeast of Aberdeen.
