Unlocking the Deep HPHT Oligocene Fairway in the Nile Delta and the 20K Technology Promise

Chrysanthe S. Munn, Lorraine Wild, and David Cowper

With the continuing development of the shallower Plio-Pleistocene Gas Fields in the Offshore Nile Delta the quest for additional hydrocarbons has driven the industry to target deeper, pre-Messinian High Pressure- High Temperature (HP-HT) reservoirs.

Over the last decade there have been a significant number of industry exploration wells testing the Oligo-Miocene fairways in the Offshore Nile. BP’s gas discoveries at Satis-1 in the East, and WMDW-7 (Hodoa) in the West, represent the deepest of the existing successful fairway tests. Both wells penetrated targets approximately 6000 meters below sea level, and encountered in-situ reservoir pressures exceeding 17,000 psi, which equates to surface pressures close to the upper pressure limit of what can be safely produced using existing facility designs and proven engineering technologies.

Development of these discoveries and further exploration drilling of even deeper targets are necessitated by the predicted demand growth for gas in Egypt and the Mediterranean region . It is, however, predicated by the industry’s ability to produce these HP-HT reservoirs safely.

This presentation discusses Satis and Hodoa as models for the deeper Oligocene Nile Delta fairway and as guides for the potential prizes still remaining to be produced.

BP has recently outlined a multi-billion dollar project to develop appropriate high pressure, high temperature capability to drill, develop and produce resources where pressures exceed todays limit of 15,000 pounds per square inch (psi). The investment highlights our company’s commitment for safety and excellence while continuing to meet the world energy demands. The project is called “Project 20K^TM” and is aimed at delivering technologies and processes to drill, complete, produce, intervene and contain reservoirs with pressures of up to 20,000 psi and temperatures of 350°F at the mudline for offshore application. The development of this technology will enable future developmental projects in the offshore Nile Delta.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90161©2013 AAPG European Regional Conference, Barcelona, Spain, 8-10 April 2013