Canada-based oil and gas company Valeura Energy has achieved the first oil production from a development located off the coast of Thailand, said to be a result of an efficient drilling program that was carried out below budget.

The first three of the seven development wells at the Nong Yao C development, located in license G11/48 offshore Gulf of Thailand, were opened up for oil production on August 15, with additional wells to be brought online successively.

Valeura expects the ramp-up of production volumes to continue in line with its plan to achieve peak production rates of approximately 11,000 bbls/s within the coming weeks, versus recent rates in the first half of August of approximately 7,200 bbls/d. The plan includes sustaining production rates at approximately 11,000 bbls/d for the remainder of the year.

“I am very pleased to see first production from Valeura’s first organic growth project in the Gulf of Thailand. We have executed an efficient drilling programme, which came in below budget and has achieved all of our geologic objectives, which we will now benefit from as we shore up the Company’s total production output with this new production,” said Sean Guest, Valeura’s President and CEO.

“Moreover, our drilling programme has successfully appraised several upside targets, which we expect will both contribute to reserves and resources when evaluated at year end, and may form the basis of future infill drilling to sustain volumes further into the future.”

Valeura holds a 90% operated working interest in the Nong Yao oil field, which comprises Nong Yao A and Nong Yao C. The MOPU TSeven Shirley, representing T7 Global’s first foray into Thai waters, serves as the wellhead production platform for Valeura’s Nong Yao C field development.

The Canadian company in June completed the acquisition of a floating storage and offloading (FSO) vessel located at the Nong Yao field.

by offshore-energy