Vaalco faces another well failure offshore Gabon

Houston-based oil and gas company Vaalco Energy has shut in the Avouma 2-H well offshore Gabon and completed workover operations on two wells on the same platform.

Vaalco said on Tuesday that workover operations on the two wells, the South Tchibala 2-H and the South Tchibala 1-HB, were conducted with no incidents and that an electrical submersible pump (ESP) failed on the Avouma 2-H well on the same platform on November 24, resulting in the well being temporarily shut-in.

The Avouma 2-H was producing approximately 1,925 barrels of oil per day gross, or 520 net to the company, before being shut-in. It previously had an identical problem with repairs on the ESP completed and the well restarted in January 2017.

As for the South Tchibala 2-H and the South Tchibala 1-HB wells, the ESP systems failed in both wells. Following completion of workover operations on the South Tchibala 1-HB, which was restored at a rate of 1,100 bopd, workover operations on the South Tchibala 2-H were completed and is currently producing at a stabilized rate of about 1,225 bopd.

To remind, the ESP in the South Tchibala 2-H well failed on July 18, resulting in the well being temporarily shut-in.

The company added in its announcement on Tuesday that, with the addition of the two recent workover wells and the suspension of production from the Avouma 2-H well, total company net production was currently averaging at approximately 3,950 bopd.

Cary Bounds, Vaalco’s CEO, said: “Following the successful workover of the South Tchibala 1-HB well, we are pleased to have also restored production from the South Tchibala 2-H well, with a slightly higher combined production rate from the two wells than when they went offline.

“Unfortunately, we experienced another failure this past week, but we expect to mobilize a hydraulic workover unit in the first quarter of 2018 to repair the ESP and return the well to production. These workover projects to repair ESP failures, utilizing a lower cost hydraulic workover unit, pay out in approximately two months.

“While we still expect our full year production to come in within previous guidance of 4,100 to 4,200 bopd, with our production currently averaging approximately 3,950 bopd, we now expect our fourth quarter production to be near our current rate.”