Offshore staff

(Aberdeen) Oilexco has concluded the initial drilling and completion phase on the Nicol field development in central UK North Sea block 15/25a. The horizontal producer well 15/25a-N1w flowed oil at a rate of up to 10,165 b/d, above expectations; a normalized rate of 12,000 b/d might have been feasible once the field came onstream, but the company will constrain output in order to adhere to good reservoir management practice, according to CEO Arthur Mulholland.

The well has been completed with a subsea tree and will be tied into the Brenda field manifold next month, following complete of subsea installations on that project. Technip is tying back both fields to CNR's Balmoral floating production vessel: it is installing an 8.7-km production line with a piggybacked gas-lift line between the Brenda well and manifold. It is also laying a 9.6-km production line between the manifold and the Nicol trees and two associated umbilicals, as well as installing the 200 metric ton manifold and 18 flexible jumpers.

Transocean Sedco 712, which drilled the Nicol producer, was due to move on to block 21/23a to appraise Oilexco's Sheryl Eocene Tay sand oil discovery. The semi will drill a cluster of four appraisal well bores on the structure's southern segment. It will then appraise the Shelly and Kildare structures in separate blocks.

08-11-2006