Hurricane flows at Lancaster side-track

Hurricane Energy has reported a sustainable flow rate from a horizontal side-track well at its Lancaster discovery, West of Shetland, offshore the UK.

Image from Hurricane.

The 205 21a-7Z well achieved a sustainable flow rate using an electrical submersible pump (ESP) of 14,500 stock tank b/d with no produced formation water. The flow rate was constrained by the test equipment, Hurricane said.

The horizontal sidetrack well will be suspended for use as a future producer, Hurricane said, and it will provide a second production well ahead of the early production system (EPS) phase of development. The EPS phase of the development also incorporates the 2014 horizontal well.

“We are highly encouraged by this flow rate which reinforces our reservoir model and further demonstrates the production potential of the Lancaster field,” Robert Trice, Hurricane CEO, said. “I look forward to providing a further update once we complete our testing program."

Lancaster is on the Rona Ridge, one of four areas defined by the pilot well as having a proven fractured basement play. It is a larger basement structure within the P1368 central license block. The crest of the field is about 1000m true vertical depth subsea (TVDSS).

At the crest, a four-way dip structural closure exists to create a conventional trapping mechanism down to the 1380m TVDSS contour, Hurricane said. Oil has been discovered and produced from within this four-way dip closure. All four wells on the field have discovered oil within the structural closure.

Below this structural closure, Hurricane’s initial exploration well (205/21a-4) encountered evidence of oil throughout the interval to its total depth at 1781m TVDSS.

Hurricane plans to develop Lancaster in phases, enabling data acquisition to optimize the development of further phases.

“As well as helping in the development of the full Lancaster Field, the data gathered during the EPS will enable Hurricane to move on to it’s other basement assets and also develop them optimally. Ultimately, the success case will lead to a large hub development that could have a substantial positive effect on the West of Shetland region and the UK oil industry as a whole,” Hurricane said in a presentation in May 2016. “If Hurricane is successful with opening the basement play West of Shetland, this methodology could be applied to these other areas of interest and significantly increase the petroleum potential of the UKCS.”

Last week, Hurricane selected Technip and FMC Technologies to be exclusive providers of the subsea equipment for Lancaster’s development. In a statement, Trice said that the deal was a very important milestone towards developing the Greater Lancaster Area's full potential, whose full extent we believe is yet to be defined.

In September, Hurricane completed testing and logging on the Lancaster 205/21a-7 pilot well using the Transocean Spitsbergen semisubmersible. The well flowed 38 API oil with no formation water at 6600 b/d on its own and then at 11,000 b/d with the use of an ESP. 

Hurricane holds 100% stake in Lancaster.

Read more:

Technip, FMC lined up for Hurricane's Lancaster

Making it simple - the road to the Lancaster EPS

Lancaster offers more pay

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