Oilexco takes on Balmoral
Offshore staff
ABERDEEN, UK --Canadian independent Oilexco has become a facilities operator in the UK North Sea for the first time, following the transfer of interests formerly held by CNR International.
The transaction, agreed earlier in 2007, brings Oilexco operatorship of the Balmoral field floating production platform and the satellite oilfields Glamis and Stirling.
The company also has commissioned its multiphase pump at Brenda, a subsea tieback to Balmoral, and expects to lift output from this and the connected Nicol field following optimization of Brenda's subsea production system.
Elsewhere in the central region, Oilexco has completed exploratory drilling at the Morro/Coronado prospect. The semisubmersibleOcean Guardian drilled two long-reach well bores targeting oil in Paleocene Forties sand, and the results are under evaluation.
Wireline testing was not possible owing to the highly deviated nature of the well bores.
Once operations are completed, the rig will move to the Bugle prospect in block 15/23d to appraise an Upper Jurassic discovery from 1997, which tested 7,400b/d of 44º API sweet crude. This will involve drilling a re-entry well bore, the aim being to define the oil-water contact.
12/31/2007