Borr Drilling rig moves to another field as multi-well infill drilling campaign comes to an end

Canada-based oil and gas company Valeura Energy has wrapped up a four-well infill drilling campaign at its offshore oil field in the Gulf of Thailand, using one of Borr Drilling’s jack-up rigs.

During the infill drilling campaign at its Nong Yao oil field, Valeura Energy, which has a 90% operated working interest in the asset, drilled four wells at the Nong Yao A wellhead processing platform, including three production-oriented development wells and one appraisal well. 

As these development wells have encountered targets in line with pre-drill expectations, they have been brought online as producers while the appraisal well was designed to delineate the extent of certain reservoir intervals in the field that are currently not producing. 

The company explains that the results from the appraisal well have exceeded expectations, with the well confirming approximately 50’ of new net oil pay over several intervals. Valeura anticipates that this will give rise to between two and four additional development targets, which will form the basis of a future infill drilling campaign.

Sean Guest, President and CEO of Valeura, commented: “I am pleased to see continuing success at the Nong Yao field. This campaign focused on the area first developed at Nong Yao, and illustrates our team’s ability to add volumes through infill drilling and to extend the economic life of our legacy-producing assets.”     

Located in the central portion of the Pattani basin in the Gulf of Thailand, approximately 160 km offshore, at 75 meters of water depth, the Nong Yao oil field is situated in Licence G11/48, where Palang Sophon Limited acts as Valeura’s partner.

The development of the oil field entailed two interconnected fixed platforms, including 37 wells and a processing facility. The processed oil is stored in a leased FSO vessel on location and offloaded to shuttle tankers for international sale. The Nong Yao field produces light, sweet crude oil which typically receives prices approximately on par with the Brent crude oil benchmark.

A few months ago, Valeura disclosed that Borr Drilling’s Mist rig was on location at the Manora oil field, where it was set to drill three wells aimed at increasing production from the field and by extension, adding to the economic life of the asset.

Upon completion of operations at Manora, which were anticipated in early August 2023, the rig was set to move to the Wassana field for the firm’s infill drilling program. Valeura is targeting an increase in rates to 4,500 bbls/d as a result of its infill drilling program, which was slated to start in the second quarter of 2023.

According to the company, the contracted drilling rig has been mobilized to the Wassana field, where it is currently on location and in the process of being positioned to start drilling three production-oriented development wells. Afterward, the rig will return to Nong Yao in 1Q 2024 to begin the Nong Yao C development.

The production operations at the Wassana oil field in the Gulf of Thailand were temporarily suspended after the FSO stationed at the field deviated from its intended position on July 6, 2023, and contacted the field’s catenary anchor leg mooring (CALM) buoy. The oil production at the field resumed on December 8, 2023.