Shell said that it had, through Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) with Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and other PSCs partners, drilled 203 oil wells offshore Nigeria in the last 14 years.
The company, which said this in a document obtained by New Telegraph at the weekend, noted that these wells were drilled on Bonga and Erha oil fields between 2002 and 2016.
“Twelve years after first oil, Bonga is still operating at “nameplate capacity” – its capacity when it first came into production in 2005. The company had drilled 203 oil wells offshore Nigeria. In all these it had supported local content development in design and fabrication,” the document entitled; “In The Pursuit of Excellence,” read.
Noting that all these activities were carried out for Shell through Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo), the document read that the company “drilled 10 wells between 2002 and 2003; 20 wells between 2004 and 2007; and 31 wells between 2008 and 2009.”
Thirty six wells, the document read further, “were drilled between 2010 and 2012; and 47 wells between 2013 and 2014.”
Lastly, the document showed that Shell drilled 59 oil wells between 2015 and 2016.
“The Bonga field is located 120km off the shore of Nigeria, in block OML-118, in water depths ranging from 900 to 1,245 metres. Bonga is Nigeria’s first deep-water oil field which required inimized and complex deep-water technology.
“We undertook a fundamental review and revalidation of Bonga wells, carrying out detailed engineering studies and inimized operational steps, always with a focus on waste elimination and inimized efficiency,” it read.
Shell, the document read further, “ensure effective front-end planning and rig scheduling, extending these to the whole well delivery value chain: approvals lead time, metrology timing, the subsea system, field service vessel (FSV) availability and so on.
“Effective management of subsurface-related drilling risks –shallow gas occurrence, borehole stability, etc. – has averted any drilling incidents and inimized non-productive time (NPT) for the rig. Deploying a new seismic velocity model has enabled us to target reservoir objectives more accurately.
“The focused evaluation and mitigation of stratigraphic/reservoir development and reservoir connectivity uncertainty/risks have ensured that drilled wells deliver against pre-drill offtake and recovery estimates/targets.
“Delays in obtaining approvals have been inimized by working closely with stakeholders – CoVs, government agencies, among others.”
On maintenance of the Bonga FPSO, Shell said: “The Bonga 2017 Turnaround (TA) spanned pre-shutdown (38 days), shutdown (36 days) and post-shutdown (12 days) with an impressive scale of over 1,000 people spread across 10 functions and multiple disciplines and locations; 313 operations and maintenance scopes and 60 project scopes; 13 in-field vessels, including a 600-bed floating accommodation vessel.”
This, according to the document, “also covers participation by over 50 Nigerian contractor and sub-contractor companies and 2,021 material deliveries.”
Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited (EEPNL), an affiliate of Exxon Corporation, added on its website that it was awarded a Production Sharing Contract by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), for Oil Prospecting Lease (OPL) 209 (now OML 133) that same year.
EEPNL is operator of the deepwater oil and gas development named Erha. The field streamed first oil in the first half of 2006.
In December 1999, EEPNL announced confirmation of the Erha major deepwater oil and gas discovery on OPL Block 209 in 1000 meters water depth. The confirmation well was drilled to a depth of 3,745 meters and flow tested as an oil-bearing reservoir at a test rate of 2,800 barrels per day. In 2000, EEPNL completed development planning for the Erha field development located about 100 kilometers off the coast of Nigeria. The Erha main development has capacity to produce an annual average of 150,000 barrels of oil and process 315 MMSCF of natural gas per day. OML 133 deepwater block is expected to recover about 500 million barrels of oil.
EEPNL has a 56 per cent participating interest in the OML 133 contract area, while co-venturer SNEPCO holds the remaining 44 percent share.
New Telegraph
