Tindalo oil well flows 18,689 barrels per day

Australian firm Nido Petroleum Ltd. said Tuesday that the Tindalo-1 well in Northwest Palawan has achieved maximum flow rates of 18,689 barrels of oil per day (bpd), surpassing the company's pre-test expectations. Nido Petroleum expected the well to flow at 7,000 to 15,000 barrels per day, but oil started flowing at 15,000 bpd on June 6. "The results from the stimulation and drill-stem testing program have exceeded my expectations," Joanne Williams, Nido Petroleum deputy managing director, said. Tindalo-1 is currently flowing at 15,000 to 18,689 bpd, said Nido Petroleum, the operator of service contract 54A (SC 54A), which covers the Tindalo oil project. The test started on June 5. The well flowed for some 27 hours at a maximum oil flow rate of 18,689 bpd. "Importantly, the high oil-flow rates were achieved by the unassisted, natural energy of the reservoir and did not require use of the installed ESP [electric submersible pump] to provide artificial lift," the company said. Nido Petroleum said oil from the test flow was processed on the drill rig and stored onboard the Tove Knutsen. The stock would be sold instead of flared or burned as was the usual practice. "Preliminary analysis of oil quality indicates 27 degree API with no wax. Extensive sampling of the oil is being undertaken for reservoir fluid characterization and crude marketing purposes," the company said. Nido Petroleum noted some water also flowed to surface, saying it could have been fluid that seeped into the reservoir during drilling. The company holds a 42.4-percent stake in SC 54A. Joint venture partners Kairiki Energy Ltd. holds 30.1 percent, Trafigura Ventures III B.V. has 15.1 percent, and TG World Energy Corp., 12.5 percent. Nido Petroleum discovered the Tindalo oil field in October 2008 and, with its partners, decided to proceed with the well development last December. Cashflow from the Tindalo well would be used to pursue other shallow-water discoveries in SC 54A and fund Nido Petroleum’s five well exploration and drilling programs in Palawan over the next 18 to 24 months, Emmanuel J.V. de Dios, Nido Petroleum president, said. It has identified over 20 shallow-water prospects with over 200 million barrels of oil in estimated potential. "Tindalo is only one of several discoveries in Nido’s shallow-water acreage, which has the potential to become significant cash generator. Moreover, with the results generated from Tindalo, the prospect of a success at the Gindara prospect, which lies just outboard of this trend, makes us even keener to commence the exploration-drilling campaign," De Dios said. Tindalo is the second Filipino field to produce oil since the early 1990’s, with Galoc being the other which started production in October 2008. Whether the shares of Nido Petroleum have resumed trading on the Australian Stock Exchange remains unclear. The company asked the Aussie bourse to halt the trading on Friday, saying it would first like to report on results of the test program. VS, GMANews.TV