Hibernia partners offered extension on new reservoir

Gary Park

Petroleum News Calgary correspondent

Partners in offshore Newfoundland’s Hibernia consortium have been given an extension to evaluate a second reservoir that could add to the expected 25-year production life of the Grand Banks oil field.

The Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board wants the consortium to drill one or two wells in the Ben Nevis/Avalon reservoir in return for stretching the evaluation period to mid-2005 from Sept. 30 this year.

The heavily faulted Ben Nevis/Avalon is located west of the main Hibernia reservoir and could hold 453 million barrels of Hibernia’s estimated 1 billion barrels, although proven reserves are only 69 million barrels.

So far only five of a predicted 16 wells have been drilled in Ben Nevis/Avalon.

To get the extension, the ExxonMobil-led consortium must submit a plan by mid-2004 outlining how it plans to delineate the northwest portion of the reservoir.

Hibernia currently has permission to produce 80.4 million barrels per year.