Galoc subsea wells produce first oil
In a joint press statement, Energy Secretary Angelo T. Reyes and Jeff Davison, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Galoc Production Company (GPC) announced Galoc Field has commenced production of oil on 9 October 2008. The first well was opened at 10.45am and oil was onboard at 11.20am.
“We embrace this significant development as this will help immensely in our pursuit to be energy self-sufficient. We are expecting to get 20,000 barrels a day in the first 90 days of commercial production. That will provide for 6% of the daily oil demand of the country. We are on the right track in utilizing our indigenous sources,” Sec. Reyes said in a statement. “Opening the country for more investment opportunities such as this one will eventually benefit everyone. In a time of uncertainties in oil prices, this will benefit the country and make us less reliant on imported crude oil and save millions of dollars in importation cost,” he concluded.
Jeff Davison, COO of GPC, on the other hand, stated that “development of any offshore field presents a unique set of challenges – a small field like Galoc in a remote location particularly so. The GPC team has invested 3 years of committed and concerted effort to bring the Galoc Field into production. Achievement of this milestone is a credit to the Department of Energy which has worked relentlessly to promote oil and gas activity in the Philippines, our joint venture partners and our key contractors. It is a momentous day for us all.”
Both Sec. Reyes and Mr. Davison expressed deep satisfaction over the success of achieving oil production from the Galoc Field.
Once production has stabilized following flow testing which will be undertaken over the coming weeks, production is expected to reach about 20,000bopd from the 2 wells with an average of about 17,000bopd over the remainder of 2008. The reserves estimate in Galoc is approximately 10 million barrels based on an assessment in 2006 for a 2 well development. Assessment of the ultimate potential with a view to further development will be undertaken during the initial 6 months of production.
The Galoc Field was discovered in 1981 with further appraisal undertaken in 1988. The field was not developed at that time due to the combination of risks associated with the reservoir and low oil price. Since then advancements in technology have both improved the capability of defining the reservoir and resulted in the need for fewer wells to access the reserves than previously necessary. This has been successfully achieved with the recently drilled horizontal development wells Galoc-3 and Galoc-4. Presently production is from the first well with the second well due to come on-line shortly.
