Tap Oil starts drilling in Manora oil field offshore Thailand

Tap Oil Ltd, Perth, has reported that a two-well infill drilling programme has begun in Manora oil field in the northern Gulf of Thailand concession G1/48. Tap Oil has a 30% interest in the field.

Operator Mubadala Petroleum has brought in the Atwood Orca jack up drilling rig for the programme. The MNA-18 and MNA-19 wells are designed to access proved, undeveloped reserves in the field and will be drilled to total measured depths of 3,107 metres and 2,366 metres, respectively.

Tap Oil says the wells will be completed using electric submersible pumps and each well is expected to take about three weeks on a trouble-free basis. The partners are expecting the programme to increase Manora’s production performance.

Once the development drilling is completed, the jack-up will be moved to drill an exploration well to evaluate what is called the L-Prospect, which also lies in the production licence area.

The Manora field upgrade programme comes a few weeks after Tap Oil announced it had made its final debt payment of US$3.4 million under the borrowing base facility with BNP Paribas and Siam Commercial Bank.

The original US$90-million facility was secured in April 2014 to fund development of Manora field.

Tap Oil is now debt-free and looking to pursue new growth initiatives.