02-11-99 Hibernia offshore oil platform will chase a possible 60 % increase in recoverable reserves when it taps a new reservoir early in 2000. A Hibernia spokesman said drilling of the Avalon reservoir is scheduled to start by March, with preliminary data expected to be released by fall 2000.
Analysts have estimated the drilling programme could push Hibernia's current reserves of 615 mm barrels to between 800 mm and 1 bn barrels. Hibernia's engineers believe Avalon contains 2 bn barrels in a shallower, but more complex formation than Hibernia. But they hope advances in offshore technology can increase Avalon's recovery rates far above the originally estimated 5 %, although they doubt Hibernia's recovery rate of 51.5 % is attainable.
Hibernia officials are currently reviewing their Hibernia reserve calculations and could boost those estimates separately from the Avalon drilling.