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Pioneer gas discovery adds to flow
Allen Baker Petroleum News contributing writer
Pioneer Natural Resources Co. has announced a gas discovery in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. The new Raptor well is the third satellite discovery that will be tied in with Pioneer’s Falcon field. With those discoveries Pioneer expects Falcon and its satellites to nearly fill a feeder pipeline that can carry 400 million cubic feet of gas daily.
The Dallas-based independent also reported that its Samoa well on the shelf found minor gas shows but was not commercially viable.
The successful Raptor is in the Falcon Corridor in the East Breaks area of the Gulf. It comes on the heels of the first satellite discovery, Harrier, which is currently being tied into the Falcon field, with production expected early next year. Raptor and the third satellite, called Tomahawk, are expected to start feeding natural gas to the system in about a year.
Pioneer has a 100 percent working interest in the three Falcon corridor wells and operates the Falcon subsea system. Drilling at Midway Also currently drilling is the Midway prospect offshore Texas, with Pioneer operating that well and holding a 50 percent working interest.
The company holds a 25 percent working interest in another deepwater prospect in the Gulf with BP, which holds a 75 percent working interest in the Juno well. That project in the Mississippi Canyon area will test a high-potential deep structure and is expected to spud later this year, according to Pioneer.
Pioneer also plans to drill an appraisal well on the Triton satellite in the Devils Tower area, the company said, with work expected to start in the fourth quarter.
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