ORYX ADDING TO GULF OF MEXICO PRODUCTION

Oryx Energy Co., Dallas, has advanced three gas projects off Sabine Pass in the Gulf of Mexico. The company is producing 46 MMcfd of gas from a platform on High Island Block 384, 120 miles south of Sabine Pass. About 34 MMcfd of that volume and 150 b/d of condensate comes from six completions in five wells on Block 384. The other 12 MMcfd comes through a 15 mile, underwater flow line from a subsea well on Garden Banks Block 224 operated by Santa Fe International Corp., Alhambra, Calif.

Aug. 19, 1991

2 min read

Oryx Energy Co., Dallas, has advanced three gas projects off Sabine Pass in the Gulf of Mexico.

The company is producing 46 MMcfd of gas from a platform on High Island Block 384, 120 miles south of Sabine Pass. About 34 MMcfd of that volume and 150 b/d of condensate comes from six completions in five wells on Block 384. The other 12 MMcfd comes through a 15 mile, underwater flow line from a subsea well on Garden Banks Block 224 operated by Santa Fe International Corp., Alhambra, Calif.

Oryx also has approved a subsea completion plan for a well on Vermilion Block 320, 120 miles southeast of Sabine Pass.

AHEAD OF SCHEDULE

Start of production on High Island 384 was several months ahead of schedule because wells were drilled through a subsea template while Oryx was fabricating the production platform. The company also saved time and money by reusing idle platform topsides and process equipment from another Oryx platform in the gulf.

Oryx planned development on Block 384 with the aid of 3-D seismic data. Wells were drilled directionally at angles of as much as 70 to achieve optimum reservoir penetration.

Block 384 platform sits in 360 ft of water. It is the company's fifth multiwell platform installed in the Gulf of Mexico in the past 2 years. Oryx owns 100% interest in the development.

SUBSEA DEVELOPMENTS

The subsea well on Garden Banks 224 is in 750 ft of water.

It is the second subsea well Oryx has placed on production since 1989.

Oryx says the underwater flow line tied into Block 384 platform from well No. 5 on Block 224 is the longest in the gulf.

Operator Santa Fe International and Oryx each own 50% interest in the tract, about 135 miles south of Sabine Pass.

Oryx expects production of 10-15 MMcfd of gas by yearend 1991 on Vermilion Block 320, its third subsea completion since 1989.

Plans call for well No. 9, in 200 ft of water, to produce to an existing platform on Block 320.

Oryx holds a 45.7% interest in the tract, Elf Exploration Inc., Houston, 18.3%; Anadarko Petroleum Corp., Houston, 12.5%; Nomeco, a subsidiary of CMS Enterprises Co., Jackson, Mich., 12.5%; and Maxus Energy Corp., Dallas, 11%.