Pemex: Cantarell drags down second quarter output
Filed from Houston
7/31/2008 5:39:03 PM GMT
MEXICO CITY: Mexican state oil company Pemex's decreased oil production in the second quarter of 2008 was primarily the result of a 15.7 percent drop in heavy crude output associated with the natural decline in the Cantarell field, E&P subsidiary (PEP) deputy director of planning and evaluation Vinicio Suro said in a webcast.
BNamericas reports that Pemex production was 2.8 million barrels in the second quarter of the year, down 11.5 percent year-on-year.
The company completed three development wells at Cantarell as well as 14 major and 14 minor workovers.
In the second half of 2008, Pemex aims to complete 10 development wells on the field, complete gas pipelines from the Sihil Alfa platform to the Akal J1 compression platform and to the Akal J2 production platform.
The drop in Cantarell's second quarter 2008 production was partially offset by an additional 196,000 b/d from the Ku-Maloob-Zaap (KMZ) project. KMZ registered a record 725,000 b/d production on May 24.
Pemex completed six development wells, five major workovers and eight minor workovers in the quarter on KMZ.
In the second half of 2008, the company aims to complete the Lum A drilling platform and the Ku H housing and production platforms and complete 11 development wells.
The company's 4.3 percent decline in production of light crude was related to operational problems, which Suro said had been corrected.
However, Pemex registered a 3.4 percent increase in extra-light crude oil production due to the completion of wells in the Delta del Grijalva project.
The company completed 176 wells in the period, up 4.1 percent from 169 wells in the same period of last year. The figure included 16 exploratory wells - four more than the second quarter of 2007 - due to activity in the Veracruz and Burgos basins.
Eight of the exploratory wells discovered reserves. The company also acquired 3,000 square kilometer (1,158 square mile) 3-D seismic data in the northern Gulf of Mexico region in the quarter, Suro said.
Crude exports in the second quarter were down 18.3 percent to 1.41 million b/d, with 79 percent of the total going to the U.S.
Another 13 percent went to Europe, seven percent to other American countries, and one percent to Asia.
Natural gas production in the period rose 13.7 percent, or 828 MMcf/d, to reach 6.86 Bcf/d in the quarter due to greater volumes from the KMZ and Crudo Ligero Marino projects.
Associated gas accounted for 62 percent of production compared to 56 percent in second quarter 2007, Suro said.
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