GULF OF MEXICO
David Paganie - Houston
Marathon scores at Flying Dutchman
Marathon has hit 100 ft (31m) of net hydrocarbon Upper Miocene sands at the Flying Dutchman prospect in Green Canyon block 511. The operator is evaluating well results along with other potential drilling sites in the block to determine commerciality.
The discovery well was drilled in 3,700 ft (1,128 m) of water to 30,000 ft (9,144 m) TD. In other deepwater news, Sargent, a single-well tieback from Garden Banks block 339, has started flowing 38 MMcfe/d gross, according to partner Newfield. The company has three additional deepwater developments under way – Gladden which expects first production late this year, plus Dalmatian and Pyrenees slated to start-up next year.
ExxonMobil drills record-setting well
ExxonMobil has completed an extended-reach well offshore southern California that it says is the world’s longest extended-reach well drilled from an existing offshore fixed platform.
The well, drilled from the Heritage platform, extends more than 6 mi (9.7 km) horizontally and more than 7,000 ft (2,134 m) below sea level. ExxonMobil used its Fast Drill technology, which can improve drilling rates by up to 80%, the company says.
“These new tools and lessons learned from our recent work off Russia’s Sakhalin Island have been key in helping us reach these resources safely and efficiently,” says Kok-Yew See, ExxonMobil’s US production manager. “Through the use of this extended-reach drill technology, the well will be able to produce an additional 5.8 MMboe, an amount equal to the annual energy consumption of over 144,000 Californians.
The Santa Ynez Unit, in federal waters, is comprised of the Hondo, Harmony, and Heritage platforms. They produce oil and gas from the Hondo, Pescado, and Sacate fields. Since 1981, the Santa Ynez Unit has produced more than 450 MMbbl of oil.
According to ExxonMobil, in 2007 the company advanced extended-reach drilling technology, which allowed oil production in the western Sacate field from the existing offshore Heritage platform. This technology has been applied to the newest well to “access previously unreachable resources” without installing an additional structure, the company says.
McMoRan defining Davy Jones/ultra-deep trend
The Davy Jones offset appraisal well on South Marsh Island block 234, 2.5 mi (4 km) from the discovery, is drilling to 29,950 ft (9,129 m) TD to test sections up-dip, McMoRan says. Earlier this year, the company logged 200 net ft (61 m) of pay in multiple sands in the discovery. Production liner was set, and the well was temporarily abandoned. Flow testing is expected within 12-18 months.
The Blackbeard East ultra-deep exploration well, drilling to 29,950 ft (9,129 m) proposed TD, is targeting Middle and Deep Miocene sands seen below 30,000 ft (9,144 m) in Blackbeard West, 9 mi (14.5 km) away. The well is on South Timbalier block 144 in 80 ft (24 m) of water.
McMoRan’s Lafitte, scheduled to spud later this year, will test similar objectives to the Blackbeard East well. Lafitte is on Eugene Island block 223 in 140 ft (43 m) of water.
The company says the data it has received so far from its ultra-deep wells on the shelf confirm its geologic model, which correlates the objective sands below the salt weld in the Miocene and older sections to the productive sections seen in deepwater discoveries.
In addition to Davy Jones and Blackbeard West, McMoRan has identified 15 ultra-deep prospects in shallow water near existing infrastructure. Future plans include the John Paul Jones prospect north of Davy Jones.
Droshky on track
The Droshky development in Green Canyon block 244 is on schedule for first production in mid-year, according to operator Marathon. The field, in 900 m (2,950 ft) water depth, is being developed as a four-well subsea tieback to the Bullwinkle platform via dual 29-km (18-mi) insulated pipelines. The project constitutes a life extension of the platform, where output has declined steadily in recent years.
Subsea 7 installed the flowlines and associate subsea infrastructure, which marked its first project to be delivered through its new North American spoolbase in Port Isabel, Texas.
Subsea7’s $30-million Port Isabel spoolbase was opened last July about 11 km (7 mi) from Brownsville, Texas. Photo courtesy of Subsea7.
The project, managed from the company’s Houston office, involved fabrication and installation of two 8-in. (20.3-cm) flowlines with a total length of 58 km (36 mi).
Pipeline assembly was done at the spoolbase between June and October 2009. Offshore operations followed the arrival ofSeven Oceans to begin spooling the first of three pipelay campaigns.
Subsea 7 also performed for the same project the engineering, fabrication, and installation of two 580-m (1,900-ft) 8-in. risers, four termination pipeline end structures, and two initiation pipeline end manifolds. The scope included metrology, fabrication, and installation of three rigid jumpers as well as pre-commissioning of the entire Droshky pipeline system
TheSeven Oceans’ work scope was split into three campaigns due to the length of the two pipelines. The pipelay and construction vessel Skandi Neptune also was brought in to install the jumpers.
Apache, Mariner agree to merge
Apache Corp. and Mariner Energy have agreed to merge in a deal valued at $2.7 billion. Apache says it sees this as a strategic step and further extension of its operations into the deepwater Gulf of Mexico plays.
Mariner’s deepwater portfolio includes nearly 100 blocks, seven discoveries in development – including interests in Lucius and Heidelberg – and more than 50 prospects. Apache and Mariner teamed in the 2008 deepwater Geauxpher discovery and development at Garden Banks block 462.
The transaction is subject to approval by Mariner’s shareholders and customary regulatory approvals. Completion is expected in the third quarter of this year.