Talisman looks at Gyda tie-back
Upstream, December 19
By Knut Evensen
Canadian independent Talisman Energy is mulling a subsea tie-back of the Gyda South field to the Gyda platform in Norway's North Sea sector as a part of its push to triple production from the area by 2006.
The outfit bought Gyda from supermajor BP earlier this year and is already gearing up activity, launching an extensive drilling campaign that could help lift production to about 30,000 barrels per day and effectively extend field life by 10 years to about 2015.
Included in the plans are between five and 10 production and injection wells, three of which could be drilled next year. The first well will be spudded in January if everything works according to plan.
Gyda, including Gyda South, holds an estimated 225 million barrels of oil, but Talisman aims to prove additional resources that could lift estimated reserves by about 10%.
The two to three-well subsea development of Gyda South is an alternative to producing the field from the Gyda platform, 8.5 kilometres away. BP drilled a well into the field in 1997, but ran into serious technical problems with a well that took about 300 days to drill.
"We will be in a position to make a decision on the subsea tie-back next year when we know if we have enough resources," Talisman team leader Fridtjof Overdal said.
The operator is mulling over options on how best to drill Gyda South -- from a jack-up, a semisub or from the Gyda platform. The subsea development could also be used as a tie-back point for other resources in the area.
The Kark prospect, in licence 19c, is such a candidate. This prospect, which has not yet been drilled, could hold between 20 million and 30 million barrels.
The Canadian operator has 45% in this licence, together with partners Dong (35%) and Norsk Hydro (20%).
Additionally, Talisman was offered acreage in block 2/1 to the east and south of Gyda in the 2003 North Sea licensing round. The company will take a closer look at one or two prospects in this new area.
Talisman, headed by Jim Buckee, seems to be following its strategy carefully as it proves up more resources in the vicinity of Gyda, effectively boosting production and reducing unit costs.
As part of the revitalisation, Talisman will have to upgrade the Gyda platform, boosting the water treatment, water injection and gas lift compression capacity. The increased production will also put added pressure on power supply. A screening study is under way and tender papers could land on contractors' desks next summer.
Talisman is operator of the Gyda field, holding 61%, and its partners include Dong (34%) and Norske AEDC (5%). |
