AsianOil: Valeura boosts Nong Yao output off Thailand by two thirds

Valeura Energy has ramped up oil production at the Nong Yao field off Thailand by two thirds, the Toronto-listed company reported on October 3, after recently launching a new development phase at the project.

Valeura, which has a 90% interest in Nong Yao, completed the Nong Yao C extension project in mid-August, which involved drilling six horizontal development wells, a water injection well and an appraisal well. The first wells came on stream on August 15, and the remaining ones shortly after.

Nong Yao C delivered a growth in output at the field to 11,600 barrels per day on average in the final seven days of September, Valeura reported in a quarterly update. This is up from 7,000 bpd prior to Nong Yao C’s launch. 

“From an operational perspective, the Nong Yao C drilling programme exceeded expectations, with total costs coming in approximately 25% below budget, owing largely to faster drilling execution, while still adhering to the company’s strict standards for safe operations,” the company said.

Valeura suspended production at its 100%-owned Wassana field off Thailand in late June in order to investigate potential risks after an anomaly was detected on one of the legs of the field’s mobile offshore production unit (MOPU). After concluding that the structure remained safe, operations were resumed in August.

At Valeura’s Jasmine field, the company sank two horizontal infill development wells in late August, with both boreholes achieving their intended objectives. 

The 41H well struck 604 metres of net oil pay within a reservoir compartment full to base with no apparent bottom aquifer. The 42H well encountered 474 metres of net mixed-phase oil pay. Both wells have been brought online as producers, flowing at an initial three-day average rate of 1,050 bpd.

After drilling the Jasmine wells, Valeura demobilised its contracted drilling rig for routine inspection  and maintenance work at a dry dock. It has since returned to the field to drill three more infill wells.

At Manora, another Valeura field off Thailand, the company has expanded its planned drilling campaign after no extra cost, the company said, owing to faster-than-expected drilling work this year. It plans to mobilise its rig to Manora before the end of the year for a five-well infill drilling  and appraisal programme.

Valeura has a 70% interest in Manora.

Results from the third quarter “illustrate both the financial resilience and organic growth potential of our portfolio,” Valeura CEO Sean Guest commented.

The company grossed $139mn in revenue in the three-month period on the sale of 1.8mn barrels of oil. It ended September with $156mn in cash and no debt, with 1.2mn barrels of oil in inventory. Two oil loadings totalling 0.51mn barrels took place just after the end of the third quarter, and will be booked as revenue in the fourth quarter.

“From an operations perspective, our third quarter performance demonstrates the value of pursuing organic developments within our portfolio, underscored by our Nong Yao C development, which began bolstering production rates from mid-August onward,” Guest said. 

Valeura netted 26,400 bpd of production from its overall operations in September, prior to royalties, marking a 23% increase versus average output in the second quarter. Guest said production should remain at around 25,000 bpd for the rest of the year, in line with the company’s full 2024 guidance.

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