Exploration in
Block
14, Offshore
Goff, Douglas1, Nelson Pacavira2, Joy Roth1, Robert Minck1, Guy Delorme3, Mark Moon1, Guido Paparoni1, Mark I. Smithard4 (1) ChevronTexaco Overseas Petroleum, Bellaire, TX (2) Cabinda Gulf Oil Co. Ltd, Luanda, Angola (3) ChevronTexaco, Lagos, Nigeria (4) Chevron Texaco, Houston, TX
The Block
14 exploration permit was awarded in 1995 to the
contractor group consisting of CABGOC (the operator, a ChevronTexaco
company), Sonangol P&P, ENI, GALP, and Total.
Over 1 billion bbls of recoverable oil have been
discovered in 15 reservoirs.
Block
14 successes can be attributed to the
hundreds of people that have been involved with exploration and field
development efforts over the last 10 years.
The initial discovery at Kuito in 1997
was followed by a large 3-D seismic survey that confirmed the presence of
Miocene turbidite channel sandstones draped over
several large structures. In 1998 discoveries were made at Landana,
Benguela and
Over the past
decade, the risk elements that affect Block
14 have been well studied. Three
major condensed section seal intervals are present in the Miocene, along with
several other more localized seals and are a key control in hydrocarbon
accumulations. The largest pre-drill uncertainties are hydrocarbon column and
Reservoir Net to Gross due to the lowstand deposition
of the reservoir sands. Velocity model error and trap seal are the greatest
contributors to this uncertainty. Source and migration have been studied and
are considered low risk, but may be more complicated then first believed.