Triton sharpens focus on non-U.S. projects

Triton's International Core Areas [110,088 bytes]
How EIA Sees Crude Oil Supply* [52,830 bytes]

Triton Energy Corp., Dallas, is advancing exploration and development programs in its core international arenas in the Gulf of Thailand and Colombia.

Triton disclosed the activity this month as it announced the sale of its last oil and gas royalty interests in the U.S. to SASI Minerals Co., also of Dallas. Interests in producing and nonproducing acreage in 18 states were included in the transaction, including royalties from about 1,500 producing leases with 5,000 wells.

Triton Energy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Thomas G. Finck said the deal with SASI is part of a wider effort to sell noncore assets and essentially wound up the company's divestiture of its U.S. oil and gas interests (OGJ, Mar. 4, p. 31).

Triton expected to net about $23.8 million cash from the sale, with a net gain of about $4 million.

Meantime, Triton said Carigali-Triton Operating Co. (CTOC) logged its third consecutive gas discovery in three wells on Block A-18 in the Malaysia-Thailand Joint Development Area (JDA) in the Gulf of Thailand.

CTOC's 1 Cakerawala East wildcat flowed a combined 22 MMcfd of gas and 131 b/d of 51.8 gravity condensate through a 2 in. choke from two sands at 3,877-4,167 ft. The well penetrated a fault block separate from the Cakerawala discovery well, 1A Cakerawala, about 21/2 miles northwest.

In addition, 1 Cakerawala East gave Block A-18 partners their first look at high pressure, high temperature zones not previously penetrated on the JDA.

In South America, Triton Resources Colombia Inc. agreed to farm out a 50% interest to Deminex GmbH, Essen, Germany, in three association contract areas, together covering more than 1.9 million acres in Colombia's Middle Magdalena Valley. Triton is to continue as operator of the tracts-Guayabo Blocks A and B, the Las Amelias block, and El Pinal block-in the western foothills of the Eastern Cordillera of the Andes, about 125 miles north-northeast of Bogota.

Gulf of Thailand

Drilled to 11,808 ft, CTOC's 1 Cakerawala East is the deepest well on the JDA, exceeding by nearly 4,000 ft the depth of 1A Cakerawala.

Triton said tests of the deep, high temperature, high pressure sands in 1 Cakerawala East were inconclusive but showed potential for gas bearing zones below zones productive in Block A-18's first two wells.

CTOC tried to test four of the deeper intervals. The deepest interval had strong gas shows during drilling, but difficulties during testing prevented an adequate evaluation. The next two zones appeared to be wet. Wellbore conditions invalidated test results in the fourth zone.

CTOC plans to evaluate the newly discovered zones in the future.

Test flow rates of 1 Cakerawala East's two normally pressured zones above 4,167 ft were comparable to flow rates from the main productive zones in Triton's first two wells drilled on Block A-18:

1A Cakerawala wildcat in August 1995 flowed a combined 58 MMcfd of gas and 945 b/d of condensate from six Pilong intervals. The well is about 2 miles southeast of 1 Pilong, a 9,200 ft gas discovery drilled in 1971 by a unit of Exxon Corp. (OGJ, Aug. 28, 1995, p.41).
1 Suriya wildcat in October 1995 flowed a combined 58 MMcfd of gas and 351 b/d of condensate from four intervals at 3,820-6,209 ft through chokes ranging from 40/64 to 96/64 in. This well, 61/2 miles east-southeast of the 1A Cakerawala discovery, penetrated a separate geological structure.

Block A-18 operator CTOC is owned 50-50 by Triton Oil Co. of Thailand (JDA) Ltd. and Petronas Carigali (JDA) Sdn. Bhd., a unit of Malaysia's state owned Petroliam Nasional Bhd.

The joint company this year plans to drill four appraisal wells to speed development of Block A-18. Also in 1996, CTOC expects to complete a development plan for Cakerawala field.

The Falcon and Actinia semisubmersible rigs will soon be drilling the first two appraisals. CTOC intends to spud 2 Cakerawala 4 miles north-northwest of 1A Cakerawala and 3 Cakerawala about 2 miles west of 1A Cakerawala.

Triton and Petronas Carigali also plan to drill two more wildcats in 1996 on structures untested by Block A-18's first three wildcats.

CTOC will spud the 1 Bulan wildcat, 8 miles northwest of 1A Cakerawala, and the 1 Bumi wildcat, 9 miles east of 1A Cakerawala and 21/2 miles east of 1 Suriya.

Block A-18 covers 726,474 acres in the northern Malay basin, about 280 miles north-northeast of Kuala Lumpur and 465 miles south-southeast of Bangkok.

Triton plans 1996 capital spending of about $34 million to fund its share of CTOC activity on Block A-18, nearly 48% more than in 1995. Company officials have approved overall capital spending this year of $260 million, 46% more than last year.

Colombia

Triton Colombia will retain a 50% interest in the Colombian association tracts covered in its deal with Deminex.

The agreement includes the right of Deminex to earn a 50% interest in La Liebre oil field on the El Pinal block, where commercial production is to begin in mid-1996 from two wells.

Deminex also agreed to take part in at least three wildcats on the Colombian acreage. The first wildcat covered by the agreement, 2 Yumeca, is to be drilled beginning in mid-1996 on the El Pinal block. El Pinal, a 142,248 acre tract, is the northernmost block included in the Deminex deal.

Triton Colombia plans to acquire seismic data this year over the other tracts, with wildcat drilling likely in 1997.

Guayabo A covers 166,800 acres south of El Pinal, Guayabo B almost 1.3 million acres south of Guayabo A, and Las Amelias, the southernmost tract, 327,665 acres.

The trade with Deminex is the latest agreement through which Triton is bringing an international operator to Colombia.

Triton in 1987 struck Colombian deals with British Petroleum and Total, farming out interests in association contracts covering Cusiana and Cupiagua fields.

Last year, Canadian companies TransCanada PipeLines Ltd. and IPL Energy Inc. entered Colombia as partners in the Oleoducto Central SA (Ocensa) pipeline being developed to ship about 500,000 b/d of Cusiana-Cupiagua crude oil to a Caribbean export terminal at Covenas, Colombia.

Triton and its partners have invested more than $4 billion in Colombia. Spending likely will amount to another $3 billion in the next few years, Triton said.

Triton has budgeted $157 million in 1996 as its share of Cusiana-Cupiagua development, up from $106 million in 1995. Triton in early February expected to spend about $29 million in 1996 on the Ocensa expansion, up from $8 million last year.

The company expects to spend another $40 million worldwide in 1996 evaluating and acquiring exploration prospects and gathering and processing seismic data.