Unocal speeds up projects

Unocal speeds up projects

EL SEGUNDO, California (Reuters): Unocal Corp. said on Wednesday it will move up development plans for its deepwater West Seno oil and gas field offshore Indonesia to the second quarter of 1999 based on successful exploration results.

The field, located offshore East Kalimantan, is owned jointly with Mobil Corp., is estimated to hold recoverable oil and gas reserves of about 150 million barrels.

The West Seno field is the first deepwater oil and gas field offshore East Kalimantan the two companies plan to develop and one of several prospective areas on the greater Seno structure in the Kutai Basin, Unocal said. Earlier, it noted, the company had estimated the gross resource potential for the greater Seno structure at 210 to 720 million barrels-of-oil equivalent.

Unocal said the latest delineation well in the West Seno field, West Seno 4, has encountered 319 feet of oil and gas pay so far and is still drilling.

It said the company has identified five attractive prospects within 9 miles (15 km) of the Seno discovery that are ready to drill on the Rapak contract area and northern portion of the Makassar Strait area in early 1999.