Offshore staff

OSLO, Norway – DNO International has completed drilling of the West Bukha-5 development well in block 8 offshore Oman.

Results from the initial flow test confirm the presence of oil in the Thamama reservoir, with an estimated flow capacity of 1,500-2,000 b/d.

Samples and measurements indicated an oil gravity of 35° API and a gas/oil ratio of 5,000 cf/bbl (142 cm/bbl).

These readings are not definitive, DNO says, as the well cleanup process has not been completed, and only around a third of the cumulative spent acid has been recovered. However, they are consistent with the values observed in neighboring wells.

Cleanup operations will resume and the well put on production later this summer once normal offshore pipeline operations are restored.

West Bukha-5 was drilled to a TD of 5,200 m (17,060 ft), including a 700-m (2,296-ft) horizontal section with good fracture indications. Three intervals in the horizontal section were acidized and stimulated. However, the shallower Wasia interval has not been perforated at this stage.

The company is preparing to resume work on West Bukha-4, where the tophole section was previously drilled. The Noble Roy Rhodes rig will then drill a third well on the nearby Bukha gas condensate field.

In late March, during a routine pigging operation, a blockage occurred in the 12-in. (30.5-cm) pipeline connecting the West Bukha and Bukha platforms. Efforts to clear the pipeline were unsuccessful, and a decision has been taken to replace a 4.3-km (2.7-mi) section of the blocked line.

Production from the shut-in West Bukha field should now be restored within six weeks. Prior to the blockage, it was producing around 7,000 b/d of oil and liquids and about 25 MMcf/d (707,921 cm/d) of gas.

Operations at the Bukha field have not been interrupted, with output averaging more than 20 MMcf/d (566,337 cm/d) of gas and 1,000 b/d of liquids.

7/18/2012