Extended reach drilling eliminates need for artificial island

Four wells have been drilled in the Wytch Farm ERD project and the time/depth performance has dramatically improved with each. While operations are approaching current technology limits, new developments such as rotary steerable systems will allow even more aggressive ERD objectives. Wytch Farm oil field, located southwest of London on the coast near Poole, England, is operated by BP Exploration. The main producing reservoir is the Sherwood Triassic sandstone, which contains about 270 million bbl of recoverable oil at 5,200 ft TVD. A bout a third of the Sherwood`s reserves are offshore. Plans to develop the offshore portions of the reservoir using an artificial island were canceled in favor of extended reach drilling (ERD) from an onshore drill site. Use of ERD and elimination of the island are expected to save $150 million in development costs and should accelerate the production of offshore oil by 3 years.