Manora production put off (Thailand)

Production from the Manora field in the Gulf of Thailand will be delayed, Tap Oil Limited , a partner in the field, has informed.

Batch drilling of the first three development wells is progressing ahead of schedule, with MNA-01 and MNA-02 wells  having been drilled to the final target depths and drilling of MNA-03 progressing.

MNA-01 and MNA-02 are required ahead of the introduction of hydrocarbons to the Manora production facility. The first two development wells MNA-01 and MNA-02, encountered 172 feet and 160 feet of net oil pay respectively in the three 600 series reservoirs of the central fault block. They will be completed as single zone producers in two of the three reservoirs.

According to Tap Oil The well results compare favorably to the Manora-1 discovery well, which found 168 feet net oil pay in the same sequence of reservoirs.

Drilling is currently progressing on the MNA-03 well, which is targeted at the third reservoir.

Mubadala Petroleum, Operator of the Manora Oil Development joint venture, has advised that production at Manora is now expected to start in the second half of October, rather than at the end of the third quarter 2014.

The short delay is due to a combination of bad weather and delays in starting the platform commissioning.

The commissioning work is well underway and it is anticipated the hook up and commissioning will be completed during this time. The Manora A platform is located within the Gulf of Thailand in 46 metres of water. The development drilling program calls for drilling and completion of 15 wells (10 producers and 5 injectors), with the program expected to take until the end of Q1 2015.

Tap has 2P reserves of 6.1 mmbbls (20.2 mmbbls gross) and 2C contingent resources of 3.2 mmbbls (10.9 mmbbls gross) booked for Manora (ASX release 27 October 2011). Tap will review these reserves and contingent resources following development drilling and production performance