Cheiron has begun producing crude from a new field in Egypt’s southern Gulf of Suez, following the GNN oil discovery.
The discovery well was tested at rates of more than 2,000 barrels per day, the company said. Cheiron drilled the well from the existing Geisum D platform. Oil is flowing via existing field infrastructure.
Oil is being produced from the GNN-4 well, an appraisal to the GNN-3 exploration well.
GNN holds an estimated 260 million barrels of oil in place, the company said, on the 104 square km Geisum and Tawila West concession. The licence was producing around 4,900 bpd in February.
A statement from the Ministry of Petroleum put recoverable reserves at around 70mn barrels.
Privately owned Cheiron has a 60% stake in the licence, via its PICO GoS unit, and the role of operator. Kufpec holds the remaining 40%. PetroGulf Misr, which combines Cheiron and Kufpec with Egyptian General Petroleum Corp. (EGPC), manages the concession.
The companies discovered GNN in July 2019, with the drilling of the GNN-3 exploration well. This discovery found around 500 feet (152 metres) of net oil pay in the Nukhul formation.
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There are plans for two more wells, drilled from the D platform, in the south. Then, the company plans to focus on the north with more drilling and a tie-back of the GNN-3 well.
Combining this new discovery with existing equipment should accelerate production and keep costs at a minimum, Cheiron said. Full-field work will involve a new platform and pipelines.
Production started from the Geisum field in the 1980s, on which there are 32 wells and “extensive” infrastructure. The Nukhul has not previously been produced in the Geisum area.
Cheiron won an extension to its licence on the Geisum and Tawila West concession in early 2019, allowing operations to continue until June 2027.
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