Borr rig wraps up Gulf of Thailand job with new oil finds for Valeura

Canada-based oil and gas company Valeura Energy has completed a multi-well drilling campaign in the Gulf of Thailand using Borr Drilling’s jack-up rig. 

As disclosed by Valerua, the campaign was done on licence B5/27, in which the firm has a 100% operated working interest. The license covers the producing Jasmine and Ban Yen oil fields, which produce light, sweet crude oil from several stacked channel sand reservoirs of Miocene age. 

Together, the two fields are said to contain 16.8 million barrels of 2P oil reserves gross.

They have been developed by wells connected to a network of infrastructure, including various pipelines and six topside facilities performing crude oil separation and water treatment/disposal. A leased floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel is used for processing and storing.

“Block B5/27 is a prime example of how with ongoing drilling activity we can continue to commercialise new accumulations to maintain a stable and predictable stream of cash flow from each of our Gulf of Thailand assets,” said Sean Guest, Valeura’s President and CEO.

“At the same time, we have appraised several additional reservoir intervals which will form the basis of a future drilling campaign on the block. We expect to demonstrate further reserves adds at our next year-end reserves evaluation, giving rise to yet another extension in the economic life of the field.”

The wells were drilled using Borr Drilling’s Mist jack-up rig. Valeura extended the contract for the 2013-built rig in November 2024, enabling it to stay busy until August 2026.

Three wells were drilled from the Ban Yen A platform. Two were drilled as primarily development wells with additional appraisal targets and completed as producers. The Canadian player claims the duo also exceeded expectations for total pay.

The first well, BYA-35ST1, was drilled as a deviated multi-objective well. Remaining oil volumes from multiple already-producing reservoirs have been developed, completing the well for production from six sand reservoirs, which will be produced sequentially.

Furthermore, the well appraised several targets which will now be matured for inclusion in a future development drilling programme. Total oil pay encountered was said to be approximately two times greater than the management’s pre-drill estimates.

The second well, BYA-42, was drilled as a deviated well targeting remaining oil in a single reservoir interval (the 50 sands). In addition, the well appraised two shallower reservoir targets (the 480 and 260 sands), which are being evaluated as potential future infill drilling locations.

The third well, BYA-41, was an appraisal well drilled to evaluate the potential of the 50 series reservoir sands. The well encountered oil and identified a deeper oil-water contact than predicted, but the reservoir target was found to be poorly developed at this location, resulting in small volumes. 

The company thus decided not to complete the well as a producer, but will integrate the data gathered into its models, to identify alternative locations nearby to develop this reservoir. 

Two development wells were drilled from the Jasmine C platform. Both have been brought online as producers, having “exceeded management’s expectations” for total oil pay.

Well C-30ST1H was drilled as a horizontal lateral within the 400 sand reservoir and completed as an oil producer. According to the company, this well includes an autonomous inflow control device, enabling its completion as an oil producer despite being drilled into a mixed gas/oil transition zone. 

Well C-39 was directionally drilled to develop three separate reservoir intervals (the 330, 160, and 50 sands), with Valeura noting that it was “successful with all targets.” After the well’s completion as a multi-zone producer, the 330 interval is now online.

The Canadian player drilled two deviated development wells from the Jasmine D platform. Both are now contributing to production.

Well D-44 had multiple targets. The primary targets (the 500 and 600 series sands) were encountered as planned, accessing remaining oil at the structure’s crest. In addition, the oil and gas player said the well verified upside in all of its secondary targets, covering five additional reservoir sands, indicating the potential for further development of this fault block in the future.

Well D-45 was drilled into the block’s main fault block. Oil was found in all three of its primary targets (the 250, 245, and 160 sands), and the well was completed as a multi-zone producer. Oil was also found in its secondary 680 sand target, which will be developed by an additional well as part of a future development campaign.

While the Ratree exploration well intersected its target sand reservoirs as planned, only trace amounts of hydrocarbons were found. As stated by the Canadian firm, results suggest that oil did not migrate to this particular reservoir trend, resulting in insufficient hydrocarbon charge. Further prospective trends within the B5/27 block are being evaluated for future exploration potential. 

Valeura claims the block B5/27 drilling programme was completed safely, on time, and under budget. Consequently, oil production rates are roughly consistent with the company’s Q1 performance, offsetting the impact of natural declines. 

The Mist drilling rig is now being mobilized to the Nong Yao field, where the Canadian player plans to drill around ten development wells.

In March, Valeura reported that the rig completed a five-well drilling campaign at the Manora oil field in license G1/48 that kicked off in late November 2024.