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Vol. 9, No. 43 Week of October 24, 2004
Providing coverage of Alaska and northern Canada's oil and gas industry

Gulf Tahiti discovery beats expectations

Test indicates well could produce 30,000 bpd of oil

Ray Tyson

Petroleum News Houston Correspondent

The Tahiti discovery well alone is said to be capable of producing upward of 30,000 barrels of oil per day, surpassing initial estimates and further confirming the huge potential for what already was considered to be among the largest oil finds in the Gulf of Mexico.

The well’s peak rate during a production test concluded in early September reached 15,000 barrels per day, a maximum level because of equipment limitations and safety concerns, field operator ChevronTexaco said Oct. 19.

However, analysis of the rate and pressure data collected during the test indicates the well is capable of exceeding the pre-test expectation of 25,000 barrels of oil per day, the company said, adding the well actually could produce as much as 30,000 bpd.

“The results of this well test are very positive for our Tahiti field development plans,” ChevronTexaco Exploration and Production President Ray Wilcox said. “These test results serve to reinforce our efforts around finding significant new oil resources in the Gulf of Mexico.”

Tahiti, on Green Canyon Block 640 in more than 4,000 feet of water, was announced as a significant discovery in April 2002, with a net pay zone of more than 400 feet. However, appraisal drilling unveiled one of the most significant net pay accumulations in the history of the U.S. Gulf, with one well encountering more than 1,000 feet of net pay in high-quality sandstone.

Reservoir spreads over distance of three miles

The appraisal program also confirmed that the reservoir in Tahiti spreads over a distance of three miles. ChevronTexaco has said Tahiti could hold at least 400 million to 500 million barrels of oil reserves.

ChevronTexaco said that based on the successful well completion and the positive test results, project development “can move forward with greater confidence.”

Fluid samples, well data and reservoir property information acquired during the test were essential components of the design for the Tahiti Project, the company said. The well test was completed in 25,812 feet sub-sea.

“This makes it the deepest successful well test in the history of the Gulf of Mexico, which is even more significant because it is in a high-pressure environment,” said Kathleen Arthur, vice president of ChevronTexaco’s Gulf of Mexico deepwater business unit.

Earlier this year ChevronTexaco announced that two major engineering contracts had been awarded for the development of Tahiti’s sub-sea systems and floating production facility. That work is well under way and on schedule, the company said.

Under the agreement, Technip Offshore is performing front-end engineering and design for the proposed truss spar floating production facility, and Mustang Engineering is performing the same for the Tahiti topsides oil and gas processing facilities.

Tahiti construction contracts are expected to be awarded in the second quarter of 2005, ChevronTexaco said.

ChevronTexaco is the operator of the Tahiti Project with a 58 percent working interest. Tahiti partners are EnCana with a 25 percent working interest and Shell with a 17 percent working interest.

“The Tahiti production test helps fortify the commercial potential of this field,” EnCana USA President Roger Biemans said.



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