Friday 28 January 2011

Record-breaking well drilled

A subsidiary company of ExxonMobil has announced the successful drilling of the world's longest extended-reach well at the Odoptu field, 5miles off the coast of Eastern Russia.

The company, Exxon Neftegas Limited, built the Odoptu OP-11 well in just 60 days, reaching a total depth of 7.67 miles to set a world record for extended-reach drilling. The well set another world record with a horizontal reach of 7.13 miles.

Extended-reach drilling is an extreme form of directional drilling that achieves horizontal well departures. The aim of ERD is either to reach a larger area from one surface drilling location, or to keep a well for a longer distance in a reservoir in order to maximise its productivity and drainage capability.

Neil Duffin, president ExxonMobil Development Company, said: "ExxonMobil, through Exxon Neftegas Limited, continues to successfully develop and operate the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project to maximize economic recovery of this world-class resource"

Exxon Neftegas Limited, operates the Sakhalin-1 Project for a large international consortium that includes the Russian state company Rosneft RN-Astra and Sakhalinmorneftegas-Shelf; the Japanese corporation SODECO; and the Indian state oil company ONGC Videsh Ltd.

Since the first Sakhalin-1 well was drilled in 2003, six of the world's 10 record-setting ERD wells have been drilled at the project. The Sakhalin-1 project has produced approximately 300 million barrels of oil for export and has also produced 6.8 billion cubic meters of natural gas.