Offshore staff

(Aberdeen) Drilling started last week on a Wintershall-operated well on the Monterey field in the UK southern gas basin. The well, drilled by the jack-upNoble Kolskaya, should take around 53 days to reach its expected final depth of 4,020 m, but testing may add a further 20 days. Water depth is 35 m.

According to partner Black Rock, Monterey is located 15-km of the Windermere platform and south of Tullow's Schooner and Ketch fields. The 1989 discovery well intersected a 300-ft gross gas column in Carboniferous sandstones, flowing over 5 MMcf/d on test.

09-29-2006