Partners curtail drilling at Manora development off Thailand

Development drilling in Manora oil field offshore Thailand has been curtailed with operator Mubadala Petroleum and joint-venture partner Tap Oil Ltd. deciding to postpone indefinitely the drilling of two production wells and one injection well.

Rick Wilkinson

April 9, 2015

2 min read

The move follows a review of the seven wells put into production so far.

The field has already reached peak production of 15,000 b/d, with some days going above 16,000 b/d. The full field development had initially been set at up to 10 producing wells and five injectors, but this will now be reviewed.

Four of the existing wells (MNA-01, 02, 03, and 05) have shown the expected high productivity and are producing free of water and sand. The other three are injecting water to support production from the reservoir sands in the central fault block.

MNA-07, a producer in the east fault block tested at 1,332 b/d with 64% water cut, while MNA-08 also on the east fault block is producing at 2,377 b/d with 14% water cut.

MNA-11 in the central fault block intersected 98 m of oil pay—the thickest so far in the reservoir. This has confirmed there are thicker sands in the central block.

Mubadala has 60% and Tap 30%. Northern Gulf Petroleum with 10% is in default of the $27 million payment demand for the program and has until Apr. 20 to pay or it will lose access to revenue from the field production. By May 20, without payment, the company will lose its title to the block.