The Nido and Matinloc oilfields are located in
offshore Northwest Palawan, currently the only oil-producing region in
the Philippines. Both these fields are under Service Contract No. 14 and
are managed by Alcorn (Production) Philippines, Inc. (Alcorn).
Currently, by world standards, these fields are small and marginal yet
they are still profitable. The aim of this paper is to provide an
insight into the management of these fields and the innovative solutions
applied in order to make it commercially feasible.
The Nido Field was discovered with the drilling of
the Nido-A1 well in 1976. Appraisal wells prove positive a recoverable
reserve originally estimated to be in the order of 16 million barrels of
oil (MMBO). The field was put on production in 1979 using a Floating
Storage and Offtake (FSO) vessel development scheme. Production peaked
at 25,000 barrels of oil per day (BOPD) and 40,000 BOPD for the Nido A
and Nido B, respectively. However, increasing water accumulation in the
wells forced the operator to put the field in cyclic production in 1984.
The Matinloc Field was developed in 1982 with
production from three wells coming on stream at the same time.
Recoverable reserves for the field was estimated to be about 9.6 MMBO.
In early 1983, production peaked at about 9,000 BOPD then declined to
less than 1,000 BOPD in 1990. It was abandoned in 1991 for being
uneconomical. In 1995, the platform was reactivated.
With reduced production capability, Alcorn has
applied innovative solutions to remain in business. Current positive
developments in the industry also contributed immensely to the bottom
line. As a result of these factors, both external and internal, and with
the support of the Department of Energy, managing Nido and Matinloc
Fields has become profitable. These factors are 1) the availability of
market and buyers of the Nido and Matinloc crude, 2) the increase in oil
prices, 3) lower total production costs as a result of the
implementation of practical approaches to otherwise costly alternatives.
Alcorn has successfully produced the Nido and
Matinloc Fields. Todate, the Nido cumulative production of about 17.2
MMBO has already exceeded the initial reserve estimate by 1.2 MMBO. On
the other hand, the Matinloc cumulative production of 11.2 MMBO has
surpassed the reserve estimate by 1.6 MMBO. The experiences learned in
managing the Nido and Matinloc oilfields will provide invaluable
insights in future field developments in the Philippines particularly in
Northwest Palawan.