The Nido and Matinloc oilfields are located in offshore Northwest Palawan, currently the only oil-producing region in the Philippines. Both these fields are under Service Contract No. 14 and are managed by Alcorn (Production) Philippines, Inc. (Alcorn). Currently, by world standards, these fields are small and marginal yet they are still profitable. The aim of this paper is to provide an insight into the management of these fields and the innovative solutions applied in order to make it commercially feasible.
The Nido Field was discovered with the drilling of the Nido-A1 well in 1976. Appraisal wells prove positive a recoverable reserve originally estimated to be in the order of 16 million barrels of oil (MMBO). The field was put on production in 1979 using a Floating Storage and Offtake (FSO) vessel development scheme. Production peaked at 25,000 barrels of oil per day (BOPD) and 40,000 BOPD for the Nido A and Nido B, respectively. However, increasing water accumulation in the wells forced the operator to put the field in cyclic production in 1984.
The Matinloc Field was developed in 1982 with production from three wells coming on stream at the same time. Recoverable reserves for the field was estimated to be about 9.6 MMBO. In early 1983, production peaked at about 9,000 BOPD then declined to less than 1,000 BOPD in 1990. It was abandoned in 1991 for being uneconomical. In 1995, the platform was reactivated.
With reduced production capability, Alcorn has applied innovative solutions to remain in business. Current positive developments in the industry also contributed immensely to the bottom line. As a result of these factors, both external and internal, and with the support of the Department of Energy, managing Nido and Matinloc Fields has become profitable. These factors are 1) the availability of market and buyers of the Nido and Matinloc crude, 2) the increase in oil prices, 3) lower total production costs as a result of the implementation of practical approaches to otherwise costly alternatives.
Alcorn has successfully produced the Nido and Matinloc Fields. Todate, the Nido cumulative production of about 17.2 MMBO has already exceeded the initial reserve estimate by 1.2 MMBO. On the other hand, the Matinloc cumulative production of 11.2 MMBO has surpassed the reserve estimate by 1.6 MMBO. The experiences learned in managing the Nido and Matinloc oilfields will provide invaluable insights in future field developments in the Philippines particularly in Northwest Palawan.