Northern Petroleum: Canadian operations and production update

Northern Petroleum, the AIM quoted oil company focusing on production led growth, has announced the following operations and production update on the Virgo redevelopment project in north west Alberta, Canada.

Following a sustained period of good weather, the Calgary operations team has successfully undertaken the workover of 16-19, which was originally planned to occur later in the summer. The failed packer was drilled out and a cemented liner run and perforated.  The well was acidised and swab tested, showing rates above 500 bpd of oil on swab. The pump and rods were then run and the well has been on regular production since mid June. The well will now be produced at between 100 and 140 bpd of oil to maximise the cumulative long-term oil recovery from the well.

The re-entry well, 14-22, which was producing at a restricted rate of 50 bpd of oil, has been temporarily shut-in since May to conserve its solution gas, which is also in line with the Alberta Energy Regulator restrictions on gas flaring limits. Subject to obtaining the required approvals, the well will be tied-in to the local gas gathering system later in the summer, which will allow the well to be put back on production at a steady rate. The produced gas will provide a small economic contribution, offsetting the gas tie-in costs over time.

The third well, 13-33, has been on production throughout May and June and achieved a production uptime of 82% at an average daily production rate of 125 bpd of oil. The well production rate has been deliberately restricted to lower than the originally planned 150 bpd of oil in order to maximise well performance and recovery and will now be produced at between 80 and 100 bpd of oil.

Combined oilfield production

The combined field production, allowing for operational downtime, is expected to continue at approximately 200 bpd of oil, leading up to the summer drilling campaign. The permitting process is currently underway for the three well summer drilling programme, which is forecast to begin in August.

Keith Bush, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "The Calgary team have done well to take advantage of a dryer than usual break-up period and undertake the workover on 16-19 ahead of schedule. Production data and well performance continues to support our expectations of achieving an average initial production rate of 100 bpd of oil per well across the field. A successful summer drilling campaign will reinforce these assumptions further and de-risk our initial objective of producing five million barrels from the field on primary recovery."

Adapted from press release by Cecilia Rehn

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/drilling-and-production/02072014/northern_petroleum_plc_canadian_operations_and_production_update/