Hidden oil leg: Case study of lower D1 Miocene sandstone, Dulang field, offshore Peninsular Malaysia

Conference · Sun Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1995

OSTI ID:103899

Solomon, G J; Chandramohan, S; Karra, S; Sonrexa, K

The Dulang Field is located offshore east coast of Peninsular Malaysia in water depths of approximately 75 m. The field, discovered in 1981, is about 24 km by 3.5 km. After drilling 14 exploration/appraisal wells by both Carigali and its partner Esso Production Malaysia Inc., the central part of the field was developed as a unitized area in November 1990. Three 32-slot platforms have been installed in the unitized area, and development drilling is ongoing. Production commenced in March 1991 and is currently maintained at approximately 50,000 BOPD. The estimated OIIP (oil-initially-in-place) for the unitized area is in the order of 700 million barrels. There are 19 reservoir sands in Groups D and E which are of Middle-Late Miocene age. During the exploration/appraisal phase, oil and gas were encountered in the Group E and only gas in the Lower D1 reservoirs. Wireline formation pressure test data taken in the Lower D1 reservoir in these wells plotted along a common trend with a gradient of 0.06 psi/ft. The lowermost gas pressure point was only 6 m above the normal hydrostatic gradient. It was therefore concluded that an oil column, even if present, would be thin. At the time, it was understandable that the gas pressures plotted along the same trend because the hydrocarbon column of the Lower D1 reservoir was large and extended beyond the limits of the major faults, suggesting a common pool. However, during the development drilling phase, it was discovered that the Lower D1 sandstone was a major oil reservoir, with estimated oil-in-place of about 100 million barrels. Oil columns of 75 m and 40 m have been proven up in the northern and southern flanks of the field, respectively, in the Lower D1. In addition, development plans were flexible enough to be able to effectively exploit the discovery.

• OSTI ID: 103899
• Report Number(s): CONF-950326--
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
HISTORICAL ASPECTS
MALAYSIA
OFFSHORE SITES
OIL FIELDS
PETROLEUM GEOLOGY
RESERVOIR ENGINEERING