[UPDATE] Khan: Energy sector's future lies in the deep

JULIEN NEAVES AND NARISSA FRASER

ENERGY Minister Franklin Khan says "if all goes well," the BHP Broadside Well will be the "deepest ever drilled in TT."

He was speaking at a media conference conference Tuesday morning where he discussed the return of the Invictus Deep Water Rig and drilling of the new well. The Broadside Well is a joint venture between BHP and Shell.

Last Thursday, BHP confirmed it is drilling off TT's northern coast and that the ship is anchored 134 nautical miles off the coast in Broadside Block 3. On Tuesday Khan said despite the covid19 pandemic, the upstream sector was "largely spared major disruptions.

"Oil and gas production has been maintained at levels required to meet the demands and planned investments, as in the case of the Broadside Well, are on stream."

He said the production of both should increase "progressively" within the next two years, adding that the industry's future lies in the country's deepwater province.

Khan pointed out while no production has yet happened, there have been "exploration successes which have added to the country's natural gas reserves" and in the medium and long term these will result in hydrocarbon production.

He said BHP has "expended approximately US$1 billion in geological, geophysical and drilling work.

"BHP's continuing exploration effort and faith in the prospectively of the country's deepwater area are to be commended. I wish the company every success in the drilling of this well because your success is clearly our success."

Khan predicted success of BHP with Broadside would generate added interest in the upcoming deepwater bid round in 2021.

Asked if Government was considering any incentives to promote deepwater exploration, Khan replied the greatest incentive is attractive acreage which TT continues to have.

"Thank God for that."

PM: BHP, TT on verge of history

The Prime Minister in his remarks said BHP has been consistently making history in TT and was now gearing up to make history again.

"There is the thrilling possibility that the Broadside Exploration Well, once it successfully encounters its first target at a measured depth of 20,537 feet, may then be deepened to test 2 further targets. If this is executed, the Broadside Exploration Well will be the deepest well ever drilled in TT, exceeding 20,000 feet TVD (true vertical depth) below the mud line."

He added the Broadside Well is not only significant because of its depth but will test oil play within BHP’s southern deepwater blocks, which includes TTDAA 3, 5 and 6.

"If the finds of the Broadside well are promising, it can inform the drilling of further exploration wells in nearby blocks."

Dr Rowley recalled during the first and second phases of drilling by BHP and its joint venture partners on the nine production sharing deepwater contracts he visited Australia in May 2018, where he met with the senior executives at BHP in Melbourne.

"There we discussed in detail BHP’s continued investment and presence in TT. I impressed upon them the mutual benefits to both TT and BHP of this deepwater exploration programme. We both agreed and were committed to its success."

He said, following discussions with BHP, Government took the decision to facilitate the realignment of the exploration programme so as to give it the best chance of discovering new gas fields.

"A number of BHP’s production sharing contracts were amended in such a way that, as far as possible, the overall work programme would be honoured, in terms of number of wells drilled, total footage and expenditure levels."

He reported to date BHP’s proven reserves stand in the range of 3.5-5 tcf, with probable reserves in the range of 1.5 tcf.

Ruby Field to produce 16,000 barrels per day

On BHP's Ruby Field Development he said the Ruby Jacket is in TT and ready for installation. He reported drilling is expected to commence in fourth quarter of 2020, which was in a few weeks, and peak oil production is expected to be 16,000 barrels of oil per day in the first quarter of 2022, with first production in November 2021.

BHP vice president of exploration Dr Sonia Scarselli said the have been drilling on the Broadside Well since August and hoped to reach first target at the end of September. She explained they are testing for deeper oil potential.

"The success of the well will open up potential for the entire deepwater region in TT."

She said BHPTT has been very successful in its gas campaign and encountered gas in eight out of ten wells drilled.

Asked when the hydrocarbons from Broadside could possibly be commercialised, Scarselli said it was a bit early to tell but based on their developmental models first production could be anywhere from 2027-2030.

President of BHPTT Vincent Pereira in his remarks said Broadside drilling and work on the Ruby Platform were very big, complex and high risk activities which were being done with the added layer of complexity of the covid19 protocols.

"We recognise the heroic efforts of those ensuring that we keep the industry going even in very challenging times."

This story was originally published with the title "
Khan: BHP Broadside Well to be deepest in TT" and has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

ENERGY Minister Franklin Khan says "if all goes well," the BHP Broadside Well will be the "deepest ever drilled in TT."

He was speaking at a press conference Tuesday morning, where he discussed the return of the Invictus Deep Water Rig and drilling of the new well.

Last Thursday, BHP confirmed it is drilling off TT's northern coast and that the ship is anchored 134 nautical miles off the coast in Broadside Block 3. Khan said despite the covid19 pandemic, the upstream sector was "largely spared major disruptions.

"Oil and gas production has been maintained at levels required to meet the demands and planned investments, as in the case of the Broadside well, are on stream."

He said the production of both should increase "progressively" within the next two years, adding that the industry's future lies in the country's deepwater province.

He said while no production has yet happened, there have been "exploration successes that have added to the country's natural gas reserves." He said BHP has "expended approximately US$1 billion in geological, geophysical and drilling work.

"BHP's continuing exploration effort and faith in the prospectively of the country's deepwater area are to be commended. I wish the company every success in the drilling of this well because your success is clearly our success."