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Unocal Sets Drilling Records in Dev
- Subject: Unocal Sets Drilling Records in Dev
- From: Rangoonp@xxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 25 Mar 1999 20:31:00
Subject: Unocal Sets Drilling Records in Developing Funan Gas Field
Offshore Thailand
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Unocal Sets Drilling Records in Developing Funan Gas Field Offshore
Thailand
PRNewswire
25-MAR-99
EL SEGUNDO, Calif., March 25 /PRNewswire/ --
Unocal Corporation today said its Unocal Thailand,
Ltd., subsidiary set two records in drilling natural
gas development wells at the Funan J platform in
the Gulf of Thailand.
The company drilled the Funan J-13 well at a rate of
5,145 feet per day (FPD), believed to be a world
record. This performance eclipsed the previous
single-well Gulf of Thailand record of 4,720 FPD set
in 1997 on the Satun A-17 well. The Funan J-13
well was drilled to 9,862 feet (7,900 feet vertical
depth) in only 46 hours.
Each platform contains about 14 gas development
(or production) wells. For the entire Funan J
platform development, the average penetration rate
of the 14-well drilling program was 4,010 FPD. This
was 21 percent faster than the previous record of
3,300 FPD for all wells on the Satun L platform in
1997. The 14-well drilling program was completed in
just 61 days.
"The records achieved on the Funan J platform
make it the most efficiently drilled development so
far for Unocal Thailand," said, Tara Tiradnakorn,
Unocal Thailand's vice president of operations.
"Continued focus on improving drilling and operating
efficiency will ensure that we will be able to
economically produce the maximum amount of
clean-burning natural gas for Thailand. This will
benefit both the Kingdom and Unocal by reducing
the amount of imported fuels needed to drive the
economy."
Tiradnakorn said the company achieved the two
drilling records because of its familiarity with the
behavior and characteristics of Gulf of Thailand
geology and the application of slimhole drilling.
Slimhole drilling, pioneered by Unocal in Indonesia,
uses a smaller well diameter than conventional oil
and gas wells to reduce drilling time and produce
fewer well cuttings.
The 14 wells on the Funan J platform were drilled at
an average cost of $800,000 per well, or $77.05
per foot. The J-13 well cost $636,000, or $64.50
per foot.
"These drilling records were also achieved safely,
without any incidents," Tiradnakorn said. "We take
great pride in our safety record, and we emphasize
that safety and efficiency work hand in hand."
Unocal has drilled approximately 1,200 wells in the
Gulf of Thailand.
The Funan J platform is expected to produce about
46 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent. The
platform will come on production May 1999 at a rate
of 60 million cubic feet of gas per day.
Unocal Thailand is the leading producer of natural
gas in Thailand. Together with it's
co-concessionaires -- Mitsui Oil Exploration
Company Limited and PTT Exploration and
Production Public Company Limited -- Unocal is
currently producing nearly 1 billion cubic feet of
natural gas and 33,000 barrels of condensate per
day. Unocal's average net working interest is 64
percent.
Unocal is one of the world's largest independent oil
and gas exploration and production companies, with
resource development, power plant and pipeline
projects in Asia, the U.S. Gulf of Mexico region and
Latin America.
Forward-looking statements regarding reserves and
future production rates in this news release are
based on assumptions concerning market,
competitive, regulatory, environmental, operational
and other considerations. Actual results could differ
materially as a result of factors discussed in
Unocal's 1998 Form 10-K report filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.