In the Gendalo field, in the Ganal PSC, Unocal and Eni SpA have agreed upon a development concept for Phase-1 of the project. According to Unocal, “Final engineering design will begin immediately and the plan of development is expected to be submitted to the Indonesian Government later in the year.”

“This first phase will be designed to produce 250 - 300 mmscfd [and] the project is targeted for a 2007 startup depending on government approvals. The project will target existing contract requirements for the Bontang gas market and new sales,” added the firm.

The company’s Gehem discovery, in close proximity to the Ranggas field, has allowed for both fields to make use of a common host facility and plans are afoot for a joint development.

“The company expects to submit a plan of development for the Gehem-Ranggas field in 2005 [and], in support of the joint development, Unocal Ganal Ltd and Unocal Rapak, Ltd, have also completed drilling operations at the Gehem-3 and Ranggas-7 appraisal wells,” said Unocal.

Unocal also revealed it had conducted additional appraisal activity on the Gula structure.

In a statement the firm said, “The Gula-3 well was drilled 3.5 miles south of the Gula-1 discovery well. The well, located in the Ganal PSC area, was drilled in 5,990 feet of water to a total vertical depth of 17,502 feet.”

“This total depth is more than 1,000 feet deeper than was drilled in Gula-1. Gula-3 encountered 327 feet of net gas pay and 6 feet of net oil pay,” it added.

Finally, the West Seno field, which is operated by Unocal unit Unocal Makassar Ltd, has encountered mix results.

“The West Seno field currently has 20 completed wells, with gross production averaging 24,000 BOE per day in June, which is a 7,000 BOE per day increase from April. By year-end 2004, 26 to 28 wells are expected to be online with an expected exit rate (gross) of 25,000 to 35,000 BOE per day,” said Unocal, describing Phase-1 of the development.

“Bids were recently opened for Phase-2 development, including offshore installation and tension leg platform fabrication. The company believes that the bid results were unacceptably high. Accordingly, cost reduction options are being considered, and the construction period is expected to extend beyond 2005,” added the firm, effectively resulting in a delay to Phase-2.

According to Unocal CEO Charles Williamson, “The Company continues to face production problems [at West Seno but] I feel confident about 2005-2006.”

“Although West Seno has not performed up to expectations, this is a significantly positive project,” he added.