Abstract

Hudbay Oil successfully implemented an interim production scheme on the MSN-4 appraisal well. Using a Jack- up drilling rig and a shuttle tanker. MSN-4 is located in the Selatan oil field 26 Km South-East of the Lalang oil field in the Malacca Strait area. The well was directionally drilled from a tem- plate location and encountered high yielding oil pay.

A decision to put the well on an interim production test was made. A project team was assembled to design and implement the well, surface and tanker installations. The task was successfully accomplished in a relatively short time frame. The scheme as proposed by Hudbay was fully supported by BPPKA/Pertamina, a factor key to the rapid efficient mobilization of resources for this Project.

In line with Hudbay's pro-active safety programme, high priorities were given to the entire Project safety design aspects.

The shuttle storage tanker required significant effort to procure and modify its anchor system in order to be safely anchored in the shallow, high currents of the Malacca Strait.

The MSN-4 well was produced at 10,000 BOPD without incident until the well was shut-in and both the rig and the ship demobilized.

It took only 25 days from the date of commitment to this Project, the 15the of April 1989, through to the commencement of oil production on the 10th of May 1989. This is considered to be a remarkable achievement by any standard.