Moran

Project Overview

Click here to view photos of the Moran project

The Central Moran Oil Project straddles two licence areas, namely PDL-2 and PDL-5 (formerly PPL-138) and is located in the Southern Highlands Province, 480 kilometres north-west of Port Moresby.

The first Moran well was drilled in June 1996 and oil was discovered in September 1996 when the Moran 1x well sidetrack, which is located within PDL-2 (the licence area hosting the Kutubu Oil Project) encountered oil-bearing sands. Production commenced from the field in January 1998 by way of an Extended Well Test (EWT) programme, producing oil from the Moran 1x, 2x and 5 wells, all of which are located within PDL-2. An EWT on Moran 4 located in PDL-5 (PPL-138) commenced production in April 2000.

In March 2001, the Central Moran Unit Agreement between the PDL-2 and PDL-5 Joint Venture partners was executed, and full field development of the Central Moran Project was completed in September 2002.

As the field straddles two licences, the Central Moran Oil Field has been developed as a single Unit with ownership of the Unit in the proportion of 45% by PDL-2 and 55% by PDL-5. 

The Central Moran Project was designed and installed based on:

• Oil production capacity of up to 24,000 bopd;
• Gas injection capacity of up to 105 mmscfd; and
• Oil recovery by injection of Moran solution gas supplemented by Agogo gas to maintain reservoir pressure.

Moran production is processed at the Agogo Production Facility (APF) and liquids are then piped to the Central Production Facility for further processing, storage and export through the export pipeline. The Moran PDL-5 participants pay a tariff to the PDL-2 and PL-2 partners for processing and transporting crude through the Kutubu system.

In late 2003, NW Moran, an extension of the Moran field towards the north west, into PPL 219, was discovered.  In September 2005, an Extended Production Test (EPT) of the NW Moran 1 well commenced, following the construction of a 23 kilometre pipeline linking NW Moran into the APF.  This, together with infrastructure debottlenecking, additional infill wells and success in re-pressurising the Moran reservoir due to improved facilities reliability, has resulted in an increase in production rates in recent years. 

In late 2006, the PDL 2, PDL 5 and PPL 219 joint venture partners agreed to establish a single Greater Moran Unit across the Moran and  NW Moran fields.  The agreed split is 55:44:1 to PDL 5, PDL 2 and PPL 219 respectively, giving Oil Search a 49.52% interest in the Unit.  The formal unitisation agreement will be executed once PDL 6, a Production Development Licence over the NW Moran field, has been awarded.

Oil reserves

As at 31 December 2007, the Moran project had produced 49.7 million barrels.  The gross proved plus probable ultimate recoverable reserves  are 110 million barrels with 60.3 million barrels remaining. The reserves are contained within generally high permeability oil rims in the Toro and Digimu sandstones. The fields have a large vertical relief that promotes efficient gravity drainage. Gas re-injection is ongoing to restore the reservoir pressure to close to initial levels and achieve a highly efficient miscible gas-oil displacement in some of the main reservoir units. Oil Search’s share of remaining recoverable 2P reserves as at 31 December 2007 was 29.9 million barrels.

Marketing

Moran crude is similar to Gobe and Kutubu crude and is sold as “Kutubu Blend”.

Recent performance

Production net to OSH

Latest quarterly report

Oil Search’s share of 2008 first quarter production from Moran and NW Moran was 0.85 million barrels, with the fields producing at a gross average rate of 18,877 bopd. This was 16% lower than in the fourth quarter of 2007, reflecting the scheduled February shutdown of the APF for maintenance.

Production from the NW Moran 1 EPT (Extended Production Test) averaged 2,953 bopd during the quarter, which was 9% lower than in the fourth quarter of 2007 due to natural well decline.

A Landowner Development forum regarding NW Moran took place in February and an offer of a Production Development Licence (PDL) over NW Moran is now expected to occur before the EPT consent expires on 30 April 2008. Once the PDL has been granted, the NW Moran well and the NW extension of the Moran field will be integrated formally into the Moran unit.

During the quarter, preparations continued for the drilling of three additional Moran development wells in 2008. Drilling is expected to commence around mid-year.