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A fast-track development is planned for an Upper Jurassic oil discovery made by Nexen near its Ettrick field in the central North Sea. The 20/2a-8 (Blackbird) well was drillstem tested for 3,800 bo/d on a 34/64" choke, reportedly in the Jurassic Ettrick and deeper Upper Jurassic Buzzard sandstones. The well was drilled by the Glomar "Arctic IV" S/S in 113m of water, encountering 33.8m of net pay in multiple Upper Jurassic zones. Initial analysis indicates high-quality crude oil in good-quality reservoir sands. Blackbird will be developed via a subsea tie-back to the Ettrick FPSO 6km to the north. Ettrick is due to come onstream in the fourth quarter rather than mid-year 2008 due to delays in deliver of the FPSO, which is designed to handle 30,000 bo/d and 35 MMcfg/d. Ettrick is a medium-sized oil discovery, with a primary Upper Jurassic reservoir and a secondary Upper Permian reservoir. Despite being appraised in 1982-1985 during which time six outpost wells were drilled, most of which tested oil, development did not start until 2007. Ettrick is one of a series of marginal discoveries associated with the Dolphin project. Dolphin involves a series of extended production tests on a group of fields that would not be commercially viable if produced individually. Block 20/2a is covered by Licence P317, which is held by Nexen (79.73%, operator), Bow Valley (12%) and Atlantic (8.27%).
This article is extracted from International Oil Letter, Vol 24 issue 34 published 25th August 2008.
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