Valeura takes FID on new platform complex for Wassana oilfield offshore Thailand
Valeura Energy has committed to a redevelopment of the Wassana field in the G10/48 license in the Gulf of Thailand.
The project will involve installation of a new central processing platform (CPP) designed to better exploit the block’s full potential. Valeura is targeting first oil expected in Q2 2027, with peak production of 10,000 b/d, more than 2.7 times the field’s current output.
The investment should extend the field’s productive lifespan to 2043, the company added, 16 years more than would be feasible through the currently operating MOPU, which could only recover a further 2.5 MMbbl of oil.
This is due to limits in the number of future development wells that could be drilled from the facility, and insufficient oil and fluid processing capacity to recover the license’s full resources.
In addition, the age of the MOPU and its processing system incur the highest opex of all Valeura’s Gulf of Thailand field developments.
After reviewing various concepts, the company settled on a new CPP with 24 production well slots, configured to achieve a more aerially extensive drilling reach. The design is similar to specifications of Valeura’s Nong Yao A platform, accommodating future tie-ins of oil accumulations to the north and south of the Wassana field.
Thai Nippon Steel Engineering & Construction Corp will construct the CPP under an EPCC contract. According to Valeura. Over 80% of the $120-million capex is under fixed price commitments, with main long-lead items already secured.
The completed CPP should be installed and ready to start development drilling towards the end of 2026. The initial planned campaign comprises 16 horizontal development wells and one water injector, with an estimated cost for each development well of around $4.8 million.
First oil should follow in Q2 2027, with Wassana producing above 10,000 b/d in the second half of 2027, with the plateau rate for the CPP reducing to above 7,500 b/d after the MOPU is decommissioned later that year.
The CPP will include two risers to allow for satellite field tiebacks such as the Nirami field north of Wassana, and reprocessing is under way of 3D seismic south of Wassana close to the Mayura oil discovery, which could lead to further appraisal drilling in this area.
Future satellite projects could feature minimal wellhead platform infrastructure, supporting cost-efficient tieback operations.
Elsewhere in the Gulf of Thailand, another rig contracted by the company started a seven-well infill drilling campaign which includes development and appraisal targets on the Jasmine C, Jasmine D, and Ban Yen A facilities. The program should be completed later this month.
Installation and commissioning are in progress of a low-BTU gas generator delivered recently to the Jasmine B platform, and the equipment should be fully operational and online by mid-year. The generator will allow a waste gas stream to be used as feedstock for power generation, reducing the Jasmine field’s reliance on diesel.
