Oil and Gas Fields Offshore Newfoundland and Labrador: Development Potential and Scenarios W.I. Chipman Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board Abstract Sixteen oil and gas fields have been discovered offshore Newfoundland and five gas fields were discovered offshore Labrador since exploration drilling started in 1966. Total recoverable resources of these fields are estimated to be 251 Ý 106m3 of oil, 234 Ý 109m3 of gas, and 58 Ý 106m3 of natural gas liquids. The geographic location of a field, resource size, quality and type, and the reservoir and production characteristics of the pool, will strongly influence the technology and techniques used to develop each field. The technologies used to exploit these resources will likely include floating production facilities, gravity-based systems, satellite developments and horizontal drilling. In addition, potential exists to employ improved recovery techniques in some of the larger pools to increase oil recovery. Introduction 117 exploration wells have been drilled offshore Newfoundland and Labrador resulting in the discovery of 21 oil and gas fields, 16 offshore Newfoundland and five offshore Labrador. All fields offshore Labrador contain gas except for a minor pipe recovery of light waxy oil from the North Leif I-05 well. Exploration results suggest this area is gas prone. Offshore Newfoundland, eight fields contain oil only, two fields contain gas only, while six fields contain oil and gas. Combined recoverable oil and gas resources of these fields are estimated to be 251 Ý 106m3 (1.6 Bbbls) of oil, 234 Ý 109m3 (8.2 Tscf) of gas, and 58 Ý 106m3 (360 MMbbls) of natural gas liquids. The term -resource+ is used throughout the paper to refer to those volumes of hydrocarbons that are assessed to be technically recoverable but have uncertain economic or technical viability; where the hydrocarbons in question are considered to be recoverable using current technology and under present and anticipated economic conditions, the term -recoverable+ reserves is used. The first section of the paper provides a brief review of the recoverable oil, gas and natural gas resource estimates, focussing on the largest fields. Reservoir and production characteristics are presented for each oil and gas pool, and, where appropriate, technical challenges in exploiting these resources, and opportunities for improved recovery schemes are discussed. The second section discusses the potential and scenarios for development of the oil and gas fields. The technology which could be used to exploit the resources and the timing of development of the resources are briefly discussed. Discovered Resources and Field Review Oil Resources All the oil fields discovered to date, except for the South Tempest field, are located in the Jeanne d+Arc basin (Figure 1). The recoverable oil resource estimates for these fields are shown in Table 1. Most of the oil is contained in four fields: Hibernia, Terra Nova, Hebron and Whiterose. Each of these fields is estimated to contain in excess of 238 Ý 106m3 (1500 MMbb...
conjunction with INTERCOMP has conducted a preliminary investigation of various depletion schemes for the Avalon and Hibernia reservoirs within the Hibernia Field. Five wells have been drilled in this field to date which con-firm the existence of substantial quantities of oil and gas reserves in at least two major reservoirs. A description of each reservoir was based on interpretation of the existing seismic, geological, petrophysical and production test data. Reservoir simulation models were constructed for each reservoir to ex-amine the effect of various recovery mechanisms. The results presented in this study are considered to represent only a minimal degree of optimization due to the limited reservoir description presently available. This paper focuses on the results of the reservoir simulation study. A brief description of the major geological and fluid characteristics and a discussion of the impact of these characteristics on depletion strategies for each reservoir are provided. In addition, the major uncertainties and potential problem areas which may require further investigations are identified. The simulation results with respect to production Douglas D. Handyside Douglas D. Handyside is a Project engineer with INTERCOMP (UK) Ltd. in London, England. He obtain-ed a B.Sc. degree (with distinction) in chemical engineering from the Univer-sity of Alberta in 1978. Mr. Handyside joined INTERCOMP Ltd.
Twenty-four oil and/or gas discoveries have been made offshore Newfoundland and Labrador. Three of the oil discoveries have been developed and a fourth is under consideration. The focus of development activity has been on the larger oil discoveries. As production from the larger discoveries matures, facilities and other infrastructure will become available for development of the remaining smaller discoveries. Development and tie-in of smaller pools and fields provides an opportunity to utilize this spare production capacity at these fields. Currently, there are several satellite tie-in and expansion projects in progress and others are under review. Development of the discovered smaller fields will play an important part in sustaining production from offshore Newfoundland and Labrador. In addition, many of the offshore basins are under explored and represent other opportunities to supply the next round of developments. Introduction Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada's easterly province (Fig. 1) is strategically positioned on international shipping lanes, with unique access to global petroleum markets.
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