Karoon Energy downgrades 2024 Brazil production forecast
Karoon Energy Ltd. remediated a well blocked by hydrates in the Baúna Project, offshore Brazil, and will workover a second well to meet a downward revised production forecast.
During November 2023, operational issues on the gaslift dehydration unit on the Cidade de Itajaí FPSO led to hydrate formation at two wells. While one of the wells was returned to production within a week, the second well has been unable to produce since late November 2023.
Karoon has been working with the FPSO operator to remediate the issues, resulting in replacement of equipment in the gaslift dehydration unit and gas stimulation of impacted well SPS-88. Work was completed on Jan. 20, 2024. The topside issues have been resolved, and the hydrates are believed to have been removed by circulating fluids. However, SPS-88 has not been able to be returned to production due to what now appears to be a mechanical blockage in the gas lift valve.
A well intervention is likely to be required to return SPS-88 to production. The work will be undertaken by a lightweight well intervention vessel (LWIV) and will take about 20 days to complete at a cost of $5-10 million (100% funded by Karoon). Timing of the intervention is subject to the engagement of a LWIV and ancillary services and equipment, in addition to receipt of regulatory approvals.
The revised 2024 production forecast of 7.2-9.0 million bbl, down from the previous 8.0-10.0 million bbl, is based on Karoon’s assumption that this work will be undertaken during fourth-quarter 2024. Overall, the Baúna project reservoir performance remains in line with previous expectations. Based on the analysis of the cause of the production loss at well SPS-88 and the ongoing remediation plan, Baúna Project resources are not expected to be impacted.
Baúna development consists of 12 subsea wells connected through seabed flowlines to the Cidade de Itajaí FPSO. The FPSO has fluid handling capacity of about 80,000 b/d and storage capacity of about 631,000 bbl oil.
Alex Procyk | Upstream Editor
Alex Procyk is Upstream Editor at Oil & Gas Journal. He has also served as a principal technical professional at Halliburton and as a completion engineer at ConocoPhillips. He holds a BS in chemistry (1987) from Kent State University and a PhD in chemistry (1992) from Carnegie Mellon University. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE).