Santos
targets growing Cooper Basin oil production
Posted: 25 March 2004
Santos Limited is targeting growing oil production from its Cooper
Basin assets.
Speaking at a PESA symposium in Adelaide today, Santos’ Exploration
Manager Central Business Unit, Mr John Chambers, said that after
a 17 year period of decline, Cooper Basin oil production was expected
to be stable in 2004 and then to grow from 2005.
This positive outlook for the Basin coincides with Santos marking
its 50th year of operations in 2004. The recently discovered Reg
Sprigg oil field, named after a Santos pioneer, will be one of the
contributors to stronger oil production. Mr Chambers said the improving
outlook reflected Santos' new strategy of more efficient use of
its existing large infrastructure footprint in the Cooper Basin,
combined with new technologies and production optimisation initiatives
over the 'old fields'. "We can move quickly and this is an
advantage in the current environment of high oil prices,”
he said.
Reg Sprigg 3 success
The most recent success in creating new opportunities in existing
acreage is the Reg Sprigg-3 appraisal well drilled this month. “Reg
Sprigg-3 is another example of the numerous bread-and-butter oil
and gas fields available to Santos throughout the Cooper Basin,”
Mr Chambers said. “This well flowed oil at nearly 3,000 barrels
of oil per day (bopd) from two separate zones and gas at 9 million
standard cubic feet per day,” he said.
"It is further evidence of how the use of new technology and
techniques to increase and maximise the return from the Cooper Basin,
is opening up new plays." Mr Chambers said the Reg Sprigg-3
discovery has implications for Santos' exploration acreage in South
West Queensland and will be followed-up with a 3D seismic survey.
Other oil successes in 2003 included the Pelican-11 and Merrimelia-43
oil delineation wells drilled in August and October, which came
on at initial rates of 4,600 and 5,680 bopd respectively. Both these
wells identified new oil pools in areas outside of previously mapped
accumulations. Merrimelia-43 has produced in excess of 250,000 barrels
since December.
Mr Chambers also told delegates that not only was Santos recovering
more oil from the Basin but was also achieving it at a lower cost.
The cost of drilling, completing and connecting each oil well has
been reduced by $500,000 in the JALBU project, while average drill
times have been reduced from 9.2 days to 7.4 days per well.
Working with Independents
Mr Chambers said Santos was also working closely with joint venture
partners and new Cooper Basin independents, to maximise economic
production for all producers in the province. “Santos' transport
and processing facilities can play an important role in the future
export of Cooper Basin product from existing or new reservoirs,”
he said.
Two-pronged approach
Mr Chambers said Santos as Operator of the Cooper Basin joint venture,
was using a two-pronged approach to increase overall oil production.
The first approach was to increase production from existing fields
through infill drilling and secondary oil recovery techniques such
as water-floods within existing fields. The second strategy was
to focus on new opportunities now possible with better seismic definition.
This included detailed reprocessing of 3D seismic surveys, sequential
stratigraphic interpretation and more cost-effective 'fit-forpurpose'
drilling rigs, to extract more product from the Basin.
Santos is employing new 3D seismic technology to image previously
unseen details of reservoirs. This new technology, combined with
advances in drilling and fracturing technology, is opening up reserves
in previously inactive acreage. Mr Chambers described success in
the JALBU project, which focused on infill drilling and a pilot
water-flood project within existing fields in the Murteree Horst
Area south of Moomba.
The project is a success, with more than 1,700 barrels of oil per
day being realised. Further increases in this figure are likely
through optimisation of facilities during 2004. This is the first
of a number of oil projects planned for the Cooper Basin.
1.5 billion barrels of oil originally in place
Mr Chambers told PESA delegates that at the time of discovery the
Cooper Basin had around 1.5 billion barrels of oil originally in
place with only 264 million barrels, equal to18 per cent, recovered
to the end of 2003. “There is obviously a large prize to be
gained from increased recovery rates”, he said.
For more information see www.santos.com
Posted by Richard Price,
Editor Pipeline Magazine
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