Australian oil driller to boost Galoc reserves

The joint venture operating the Galoc oil field in offshore Palawan is moving toward developing new prospective sites as oil production has already reached 7.54 million barrels as of end-June this year.

The Galoc joint venture targets to extend the life of the field as total reserves within the area were estimated at only 10 million barrels. Recently, however, field operator Galoc Production Co. (GPC) said the estimated “ultimate recoverable reserves” might have increased to about 15 million barrels.

Still, the Galoc joint venture intends to move forward with its Phase 2 field development, according to Australian firm Otto Energy Ltd.

In a regulatory filing, Otto Energy said the Galoc joint venture has approved an upgrade of the existing facilities within the oil field, involving the installation of a new turret mooring system. The installation of the turret, which the joint venture plans to undertake within the fourth quarter of 2011, is expected to increase the operating uptime to more than 95 percent.

“The enhanced mooring and riser system is a crucial component of the infrastructure to enable the Galoc joint venture to move ahead with a Phase 2 field development,” Otto Energy said.

Under the initial Galoc phase 2 development options, the joint venture targets to increase reserves by five million barrels of oil by drilling new wells, which are estimated to yield about 4,000 barrels of oil a day. These wells may be drilled in the northern portion of the Galoc structure to boost production and access undeveloped reserves.