AWE brings New Zealand's Pateke-4H well onstream

SYDNEY, Australia -- AWE Limited, as operator of PMP 38158, has completed the subsea tie-back and installation project to connect the Pateke-4H development well to the Tui area oil fields gathering system. Oil production has now commenced.

Pateke-4H has been brought onstream and flow testing is under way to determine the optimal well settings. The well recorded an initial unstabilized flow rate of 34,000 bopd at 67% choke with a 48% water cut, which is in line with field modelling.

Looking ahead, it is planned to test various facility parameters, including choke settings, before establishing a much lower stabilized flow rate for long-term production. It is forecast that oil production from the well will then decline relative to the increasing water cut in the well.

Bruce Clement, AWE's managing director, said, “The Pateke-4H development well is performing as expected and will boost near-term production and cash flow without additional operating costs. The successful tie-back and commissioning of the Pateke-4H well represents the final stage of development for the Tui project, which has been a cornerstone production asset for AWE for almost a decade.”

The Pateke-4H subsea tie-back and installation project commenced on March 5. The project involved the installation of 1,312 m of flexible flow line; a gas lift umbilical and production manifold; integrated controls; and ancillary equipment in water depths of about 124 m. All infrastructure was successfully tested and commissioned prior to starting production.

The Tui area oil fields and the Umuroa FPSO were shut in for the duration of the tie-back project. During the shut-in period, a planned program of facility inspections and maintenance was conducted.

The Tui area oil fields comprises Tui, Amokura and Pateke fields, which are located approximately 50 km off the coast of Taranaki, New Zealand, in PMP 38158. Production from each field is fed into the Tui field gathering system and then into the Umuroa FPSO.

The joint venture partners in PMP 38158 are, AWE Limited (via subsidiaries; operator) 57.50%, New Zealand Oil & Gas (via subsidiaries) 27.50% and Pan Pacific Petroleum (via subsidiaries) 15%.