Byron completes upgrade on Gulf of Mexico platform

Oil and gas company Byron Energy has completed a planned compressor upgrade and installation at its South Marsh Island 71 F Platform in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

Byron Energy said on Monday that all wells on the platform were back online at normal production levels following the upgrade.

The company added that the compressor upgrade would allow it to manage the producing wells in a more consistent, stable manner as the wells would no longer be affected by normal fluctuations in sales line pressure caused by monthly pipeline maintenance operations.

Another benefit of stable production rates is overall better reservoir management, which results in improved oil recovery.

A lift boat transporting the new compressor was mobilized to the platform, and work began on December 4. Installation work at the platform was scheduled for fourteen days, but the construction work was completed in eight days.

Because of the heavy lifts involved in swapping out the old compressor and welding to connect new flow lines, the three producing wells were expected to be shut in for around ten days during the installation process.

Platform production was shut-in on December 7 for construction work. The SM71 F3 was returned to production in less than three days producing through the high-pressure production system. Both the SM71 F1 and F2 wells were shut-in a total of seven days. The crews were demobilized on 12 December.

Since production began at the SM71 F platform in March 2018, the three wells have produced a combined total of 1.97 million barrels of oil and 2.8 billion cubic feet of gas.

A new well, the SM71 F4, has been permitted and would extend the D5 Sand reservoir and add new reserves to the field in the success case. The SM71 F4 is expected to spud shortly after the contracted rig is released from its current job. The rig should arrive on-site in late January 2020.

Maynard Smith, Byron’s CEO, said: “Being able to manage our wells without the influence of soles line pressure fluctuations will be of great advantage to us not only now, but down the road, as these wells will eventually produce water making stabilized production rates harder to maintain.

“Right now, the wells are performing to our expectations and continue to provide the reliable cash flow we need to continue our growth in the Gulf of Mexico, especially our future SM58 G Platform. We are rapidly closing in on a major milestone of 2 million barrels of water-free production from the SM71 F platform.”

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