PETRO-CANADA TO DRILL TWO TERRA NOVA TEST WELLS
Petro-Canada, Canada's
state-owned oil company, said it will drill two delineation
wells this summer at the Terra Nova oil field offshore
Newfoundland.
    Evaluation of test results and preliminary engineering work
should put Petro-Canada in a position to propose a development
plan for the Terra Nova field in 1988, the company said.
    Depending on time required for regulatory approvals,
construction could begin in 1989, with first oil production as
early as 1991, Petro-Canada said.
    "We have a high degree of confidence that the western
portion of the (Terra Nova) field contains at least 11 mln
cubic meters of recoverable oil, or more than 70 mln barrels,
and that we could produce it economicly using a floating
production system," Petro-Canada said.
    The Terra-Nova field, lying 350 kilometers east of St.
John's and 35 kilometers southeast of Hibernia field, was
discovered by Petro-Canada in 1984.
    "We've had encouraging results from the eastern portion of
the field, and we hope this summer's drilling will prove up
additional reserves there," the company said.
    Petro-Canada believes Terra Nova field is a good commercial
prospect and the company wants to move some of those resources
towards development so it can start generating a return on
investments, Petro-Canada said.
    Petro-Canada, which will act as operator of the two wells,
has a 75 pct interest in the western portion of Graven block of
the Terra Nova field and a 26 pct interest in the field's East
Flank block, a company spokesman said later. Other field
participants include Canterra Energy Ltd, Mobil Oil Canada Ltd,
Gulf Canada Resources Inc, ICG Resources Ltd, Trillium
Exploration Corp and general partnership PAREX.
    Petro-Canada estimates reserves in the Terra Nova field's
Graven block of between 68 mln and 70 mln barrels of oil,
company spokesman Bob Foulkes said from Petro-Canada's Calgary
office.
    Combined reserves for Graven Block and the field's East
Flank block are estimated between 70 mln and 130 mln barrels,
he added.
    Petro-Canada expects to spend about 500 mln Canadian dlrs
to bring the field to production by about 1991, and the
development budget could double if the company builds a
production system combining both blocks in the field, he said.
    Petro-Canada estimates the Terra Nova field Graven block
would produce between 25,000 and 26,000 barrels average daily
production, with a production system that would have maximum
capacity of 40,000 bpd, company spokesman Foulkes said in
answer to a query.
    The company estimates a production system combining both
Graven and East Flank blocks in the Terra Nova field could
produce about 45,000 bpd average daily production, he said.
 Reuter
