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Pioneer scores at Tomahawk prospect Second gas discovery in Falcon Corridor in East Breaks area of deepwater Gulf of Mexico will tie back to Falcon field Petroleum News
Exploration and production independent Pioneer Natural Resources has a natural gas satellite discovery on its Tomahawk prospect in the Falcon Corridor in the East Breaks area of the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, the company said Aug. 18.
Tomahawk is the second satellite discovery Pioneer is developing as a subsea tie-back to its Falcon field. The first satellite discovery, Harrier, is currently being completed with first production expected in early 2004. Following the Harrier completion, Pioneer plans to drill Raptor, another prospect in the Falcon Corridor.
Pioneer said that to accommodate Falcon Corridor satellite production, an additional parallel pipeline connecting the Falcon field to the Falcon Nest platform on the Gulf's continental shelf is being added to the Falcon facilities, doubling the capacity to 400,000 million cubic feet of gas per day. Combined production will equal 275,000 Mmcf Pioneer said it expects combined daily gas production from Falcon and Harrier to reach about 275,000 million cubic feet per day, leaving excess pipeline capacity to tie-in additional satellites such as Tomahawk and Raptor.
Pioneer operates the Falcon subsea system and the Falcon Corridor fields with a 100 percent working interest.
Meanwhile, Pioneer said that oil production has begun from the Sable field offshore South Africa and that three of four producing wells are on stream with production rising toward expected peak rates of 35,000 to 40,000 barrels per day.
Total production from the three wells has reached more than 22,000 barrels per day and is expected to continue to rise, and the fourth well is expected to be brought on within a few days, Pioneer said.
Pioneer holds a 40 percent working interest in the field and is the first foreign company to produce oil in South Africa. PetroSA, the Petroleum Oil and Gas Corporation of South Africa, is the operator of the field with a 60 percent working interest.
The oil is being processed on a floating production, storage and off loading vessel and will be transported to shore via shuttle tanker. First oil sales are anticipated in September or October, the company said.
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