South Atlantic Petroleum (SAPETRO) is working on bringing the exploration well it was drilling on the Seme structure under control.
Perle C-1, located east of the main structure, was meant to determine how far east the reservoirs in the Seme field extend to. It was supposed to “preface” the three proposed producer wells that will drain the field.
Not only did the well not encounter hydrocarbon at the objective intervals, it also experienced a gas leak challenge as it reached close to the prognosed Total Depth of 2,300metres.
The Nigerian independent is now engaging the Beninois authorities about abandoning the well.
The jack up rig Noble Craighead, will likely go ahead to drill the first of the the three producer wells from the same single conductor supported platform.
SAPETRO hopes to bring back the Seme field, abandoned in 1997, on stream by mid- 2014. Peak production is expected to be around 6,000BOPD.
Seme was shut in after 14 years of production by a succession of companies including Saga Petroleum, Pan Ocean and Ashland. It produced over 21Million barrels and was delivering over several times more water than it was producing oil at the time of field dismantlement.
The field produced 7,627BOPD at its peak in 1984. At the lowest in 1997, just before abandonment, it was delivering only 1,207BOPD. SAPETRO took over the block in 2004, acquired three dimensional seismic data and conducted extensive interpretation, reservoir characterization and modeling. The studies, it is hoped, will enable the company optimize production and carry out more efficient reservoir management practices than previous operators. The new data revealed two more culminations (West and Central), apart from the lone (Eastern) culmination which the previous operator produced from, meaning that there’s more bypassed oil than the initial data suggested.
A total of 9,000Barrels Of Liquids Per Day(BLPD) is expected to be produced at peak, of which 3,000BLPD will be water and 6,000BOPD is prognosed to be oil.
SAPETRO expects the field can still be drained optimally for another 16 years.
