Offshore staff
HOUSTON -- A-17D, the latest well on BPZ Energy’s Albacora field off northwest Peru, was a dry hole.
The company has decided to suspend drilling operations at the field until it has finished a 3D seismic acquisition program in block Z-1, currently suspended at the request of the Peruvian government.
BPZ is completing further environmental studies requested by the government to obtain permission to move the seismic program forward. If all goes well, work could start in the first half of 2011. During this period of drilling downtime, the company will advance its plans to fabricate and install permanent production and injection facilities on the Albacora platform. This should facilitate continued production from the field once drilling operations restart by avoiding gas flaring and associated permit issues.
In the meantime, the contracted rig is on standby.
Richard Spies, COO, said: "It appears that the Albacora field could be a series of turbidite channels or lobes, which should be better defined by the 3D seismic. In an effort to preserve capital, and use existing capital in the most beneficial manner, we will temporarily stop drilling in Albacora until we complete the 3D seismic acquisition program, which should coincide with the installation of injection and production facilities on the Albacora platform… In parallel, we plan to carry out some workovers in the existing Corvina [offshore field] wells and prepare to continue developing the Corvina oil field."
10/04/2010
