Offshore staff
ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan -- Dragon Oil will employ up to four rigs this year on the Cheleken Contract Area (CCA) fields in the Caspian Sea.
• Rig 40 will drill two more wells from the Dzheitune (Lam) 13 platform, slots for which have already been added
• The platform-based Naftna Industrija Srbije Naftagas (NIS) rig is at work now on the Dzheitune (Lam) 28 platform and should complete up to five wells this year. Again, two slots are being added to this platform to accommodate the program
• Dragon also has agreed in principle a two-year extension for use of the Iran Khazar. This rig will continue drilling from the Dzheitune (Lam) B platform and should complete four wells this year. Since the rig started working on the CCA fields in 2005, it has completed 23 wells from the Dzheitune (Lam) 21, 28, 10, A and B platforms, and numerous workovers.
The Astra jackup, which was used in the first half of 2010 on the new Dzheitune (Lam) B platform, could be re-engaged or a replacement brought in, pending availability and favorable contractual terms and availability.
Last year Dragon contracted Yantai Raffles Offshore to build, lease, and manage a new Super M2 jackup. This rig should mobilize to the CCA in December. The lease/management contract has an initial five-year duration, and could be extended up to two years
A newly laid 30-in. (76-cm) 40-km (24.8-mi) trunkline will allow Dragon to take produced crude and most of its unprocessed gas onshore in Turkmenistan, replacing two existing 12-in. (30.5-cm) pipelines.
Currently, gas is flared offshore pending completion of a compressor station and a connecting pipeline between the station and the CCA’s offshore central processing facility (CPF). These facilities should be completed by mid-year.
The capacity of the CPF has been almost doubled to handle up to 100,000 b/d of liquids and 220 MMcf/d of gas. The new 30-in. trunkline has similar capacity, and, unlike the existing 12-in. pipelines, has pigging facilities to clean the trunkline and minimize wax accumulation.
Dragon is installing a new gathering platform in Dzheitune (Lam) block I in the western area of the field to replace the existing block installation, providing added throughput capacity for crude oil flow in this part of the field.
02/25/2011
