New development in South China Sea with record extended-reach drilling

June 24, 1997 Phillips Petroleum China and co-venturers (China National Offshore Oil Corporation and Pecten Orient Company, an affiliate of Shell Oil Company and Shell Exploration (China) Limited) have announced the development of a satellite oil field in Block 15/11 of the South China Sea. The Xijiang 24-3-A14 well encountered 14 oil-bearing reservoir sands containing a total of 246 feet of net pay. The well currently is producing 4,200 barrels of oil per day and is expected to flow more than 10,000 bpd at full production. The well will not be flow tested.
With completion of the well, Phillips set a world record for extended-reach drilling. The well's displacement stretches 26,446 feet, or more than five miles, from its home-base platform -- Phillips' Xijiang 24-3, located 80 miles south of Hong Kong in the South China Sea. The operation also set a record for China's longest measured-depth well, at 30,308 feet.
"The completion of this well demonstrates our ability to reach the satellite fields we know surround our platforms in the South China Sea," said Alan Hammerli, Phillips' China country manager. "By drilling extended-reach wells, we can lengthen the economic life of our facilities and continue to assist China in developing its offshore reserves."
Phillips' Xijiang facilities consist of two platforms and a FPSO vessel operating in 330 feet of water in the South China Sea. On Nov. 10, 1996, the Xijiang fields set the offshore China record for daily production at 147,093 barrels per day.

Phillips is operator of the Xijiang 24-3 field with a 24.5 % interest. The China National Offshore Oil Corporation has 51 %; Pecten Orient Company has 12.5 % and Shell Exploration (China) Limited has the remaining 12 %.