andar Seri Begawan - Total E&P Borneo B V (TEPB) will drill another well in Block B Maharajalela field, its general manager said yesterday, following an announcement that it has completed drilling ML-5 well.
Drilling of the exploration well, which is TEPB's deepest yet at its production field in Block B some 50km off Brunei shores, began in January and completed on May 26. It is 5,700 metres in depth measured from sea level.
The exploration well, numbered Maharajalela 5 (ML-5), was drilled southeast of the Maharajalela field, with the objective to explore separate structures of the field.
"We expect to collect information which will validate the extension of the Maharajalela field. We are now in the analysis stage, where we are collecting data and information for potential hydrocarbons," said Yves Grosjean, general manager of TEPB.
"We have some additional operations which will be carried out at the well until the end of this month. After these operations, then we will have a better view of what we have found," he added.
Grosjean said another well will be drilled after data collection is complete on ML-5. "We will need more information in order to define the overall future development. This well will be named Maharajalela 6 (ML-6) and will start immediately after we complete our operations at ML-5, which will eventually be abandoned and cemented," he added.
Grosjean said that the well is considered as state of the art due to its depth and the high pressures and high temperatures encountered downhole.
Total, one of the world leaders in operating under high pressure, high temperature (HPHT) conditions, has put all its expertise on the project.
"We are reaching extremely high pressures in these wells, and Total has a particular expertise in HPHT reservoirs. The knowledge and the technologies are directly inspired from the famous Elgin Franklin field in the North Sea in the United Kingdom," he stated.
"We are not alone to drill this particular well and to bring the financing and to engage into this adventure. We have partnered with Shell Deepwater Borneo Ltd (SDBL). Shell is very supportive of what we are doing and we are very pleased with their support," Grosjean said, noting that the cost of the project was estimated at $100 million.
In 2008, TEPB drilled its longest production well, the MLJ2-06, in Block B, some 50km off Brunei shores, with a depth of 7,000 metres. In a statement, the company said this achievement demonstrated that Total has adequate technology to develop HPHT fields in Brunei, which will open up many opportunities for future oil and gas development in the country.
The ML-4 well, drilled to a final depth of 5,227 metres, uncovered a new gas-bearing pocket in the Maharajalela/Jamalulalam field where a gas column of over 400 metres was struck in reservoirs.-- Courtesy of The Brunei Times
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