Valiant Petroleum (Valiant) has said that the drilling operations on Don Southwest are now ready to recommence after approximately four weeks of delays and it is anticipated that the Area 22 production well (Valiant, 40%) will be fully completed by the end of February.
The side-track of the production well on Don Southwest had encountered operational difficulties retrieving the down-hole completion and as a result, remedial work has been ongoing for the past few weeks to free a long section of stuck tubing.
Water Injection will commence on Don Southwest following the completion of drilling operations and gas lift should also be commissioned shortly thereafter.
The completion of the Area 22 side-track now coincides with the planned shutdown on both Don Southwest and West Don (together the Don Fields) for the tie-in to the pipeline export route via the nearby Thistle platform, somewhat mitigating the impact of the operational delay, the company said.
Valiant will provide the detailed production guidance after the Don Southwest development Phase I is fully commissioned towards the end of first quarter of 2010.
Production from Don Southwest has to date only been from a single well in Area 5 which has produced in-line with expectations whilst on West Don (Valiant, 17.275%) production continues in-line with revised profiles that are now benefiting from the impact of water injection and gas lift.
The Don Fields Phase II development is also on schedule for completion in 2010 with the John Shaw semi-submersible drilling unit contracted for 180 firm plus 90 option days from the end of first quarter of 2010.
The partners also intend to drill up to two further appraisal wells into other neighbouring ‘compartments’ in the field, including a follow-up appraisal well in Area A/B designed to test a thicker Brent sequence away from the original discovery well drilled in 2007.
The company also anticipates securing a rig slot for a third production well into the southern area of West Don, which could be brought on stream in late 2010.
Valiant said that the 2010 exploration programme has also begun to take shape following the booking (subject to finalisation of contract) of the Diamond Ocean Nomad semi-submersible drilling rig for the Valiant operated Tybalt (Valiant, 100%) prospect located in Quad 211.
The Tybalt well is anticipated to spud at the end of first quarter of 2010 and is targeting P50 prospective resources of c46mmboe. If successful, Tybalt will support commercialisation of a joint development with the nearby Banquo field (Valiant, 100.0%) which has audited best estimate contingent resources of 21mmboe.
Valiant has also issued a letter of intent for an agreement to contract a rig slot to drill its large, Central North Sea Viola prospect during the summer of 2010.