Waimea well test

Brazilian independent OGX kicked off 2012 with production at its offshore Waimea development. First oil came in January via an extended well test (EWT) to the FPSO OSX-1 just over two years after the field was discovered with OGX-3 in December 2009. As of mid-June, the EWT for the Tubarão Azul, formerly Waimea, field in the Campos Basin showed test rates of 4000b/d to 18,000b/d of 20°API oil at the OGX-26 and OGX-68 wells. Based on those results, OGX said the ideal flow rate will be 5000boe/d per well, without water injection.

OGX, so named for oil & gas plus the mathematical multiplier symbol, declared the field commercial in 1H 2012. By mid-2013, the company expects to have two more producers as well as two injectors connected to the shallow water FPSO, enabling it to recover over 100 million boe from the field in block BM-C-41 in 135m water depth.

The OSX-1 was built in Korea and customized by Keppel in Singapore; the 272m long vessel, which can store up to 900,000 barrels of oil and handle production of up to 80,000b/d, arrived in Rio de Janeiro in October 2011. It is under a 20-year charter to OGX.

The OSX-1 FPSO is serving OGX’s Waimea field in the shallow waters offshore Brazil.

The Aker Wayfarer handled subsea installation. Wellstream supplied the flexible lines. Oceaneering produced the control umbilical. Baker Hughes supplied the electric submersible pump.

OGX has said it intends to drill a significant number of production wells in the Campos Basin in the next four years. GE will supply drilling & production equipment for three fixed production platforms for the Waimea and Waikiki fields under a contract valued at up to $230 million.

OGX is awaiting the delivery of two more FPSOs, OSX-2 and OSX-3, from Singapore; those vessels are expected to begin receiving production in 2H 2013.

Wellhead platforms 1 and 2 are scheduled to be delivered by 1H 2014 for the Waimea and Waikiki complexes, respectively. In addition, in April 2012, OGX ordered wellhead platforms 3 and 4 from Techint.

OGX declared the Waikiki accumulation commercial in April this year. Now to be known as Tubarão Martelo, the accumulation spans across the shallow water blocks BM-C-39 and BM-C-40, which OGX operates with 100% interest. It anticipates recovering 285 million barrels of oil from the pair of Campos Basin blocks. The oil was discovered with the OGX-25 well in December 2010; first oil is expected in 2H 2013 using the FPSO OSX-3 and the wellhead platform 2, which Modec and Techint, respectively, are building.

The drill stem test of the first production well for the field, concluded in June 2011, showed a production potential of 40,000b/d of 23°API oil; neighboring accumulations in the adjacent block have shown 26-28°API oil.

OGX has had a few shifts in management this year. In August, Paulo de Tarso was named exploration director. In June, Paulo Mendonça, who served as general executive officer until being assigned the post of CEO in April, was named special advisor to the chairman of EBX Group; Eike Batista is the chairman. Luiz Eduardo Guimarães Carneiro, chief executive of OSX, was named CEO of OGX. Also in April, Paulo Ricardo dos Santos was named exploration and reservoirs officer, Reinaldo Belotti production officer and Roberto Monteiro CFO. OE