West Delta Block 84-Methodology and Analysis of a Previously Orphaned Field

摘要

This paper describes the effort to justify,document and confirm proven,unproven,undeveloped and bypassed remaining oil and gas reserves in West Delta Block 84 Field,at one time an orphaned field off the coast of Louisiana.The methodology used for the evaluation provides an insight of how to identify,quickly and efficiently,worthwhile and economic marginal properties,even with incomplete or missing information.This methodology is being used as a part of the development of an expert system for the evaluation of marginal and/or orphaned wells,reservoirs and fields. West Delta Block 84 is located off the coast of Plaquemines Parish,Louisiana,near the mouth of the Mississippi River in about 20 feet of water.Conoco discovered it in 1955 with the drilling of the SL 2551 No.1 well to a total depth of 14,500 feet. It has produced over 9.8 million barrels(MMSTB)of oil and 21 billion cubic feet(BCF)of gas.It was shut in for a period of almost ten years while languishing in and out of bankruptcy court from 1990 to 2000 and was actually orphaned by the state at one point during this time. Available data was organized and pieced together for the field,but was still lacking in completeness.As in most cases when dealing with older marginal fields,an ability to deal with missing and incomplete information was necessary to complete the analysis.