Dragon expands Turkmen export infrastructure
Dragon Oil has completed a further development well in the Cheleken Contract Area of the Caspian Sea, and commissioned a new 14-in. in-field pipeline
Offshore staff
ASHKABAD, Turkmenistan -- Dragon Oil has completed a further development well in the Cheleken Contract Area of the Caspian Sea, and commissioned a new 14-in. in-field pipeline.
The NIS rig drilled the Dzheitune (Lam) 28/151 well to a depth of 3,512 m (11,522 ft), completing it with dual strings.
Testing of the short and long strings resulted in respective oil production rates of 1,745 b/d and 911 b/d. The rig will skid to the next slot and should spud the Dzheitune (Lam) 28/152 well in the next few days.
Another rig, the Iran Khazar, is currently completing the Dzheitune (Lam) B/150 well. Initial testing should start within the next week.
The 14-in. (35-cm) in-field pipeline from the Dzheitune (Lam) B platform to the Dzheitune (Lam) 28 platform has been installed and commissioned, increasing throughput capacity in the western area of the field. As part of the trunkline project, Dragon also is completing two further in-field pipelines from the Dzheitune (Lam) 28 platform to the Dzheitune (Lam) A platform (18-in., or 45-cm), and from the Dzheitune (Lam) A platform to block II (20-in., or 51-cm)).
According to Dragon CEO Dr Abdul Jaleel Al Khalifa: “This significant upgrade to the infrastructure will eliminate network bottlenecks, as the newly added in-field pipelines and the [new] 30-in. (76-cm) trunkline are capable of accommodating planned increases in future production."
The 30-in., 40-km (24.8-mi) trunkline, running from block II to the Central Processing Facility (CPF), was completed and commissioned earlier this month. It is designed to supplement two existing 12-in. (30.5-cm) trunklines, allowing Dragon to bring gas and liquids onshore, and to deliver unprocessed raw gas to the Turkmen gas pipeline system.
Over time, the company plans to switch over from the existing 12-in. trunklines to the new 30-in. line, but the two existing trunklines will be maintained in a working condition for future use.
Commissioning of the newly expanded CPF is under way, and should be finalized by the end of this month. The capacity of the CPF has been doubled to allow handling of up to 100,000 b/d of liquids, along with up to 220 MMcf/d of gas.
12/30/2010
