The Kitan field is situated approximately 100 miles (161 kilometers) off the East Timor coast and 300 miles (483 kilometers) off the Australian coast, and is located in around 1,000 feet (305 meters) of water. Kitan is located in the permit 06-105 of the Joint Petroleum Development Area, an area jointly administered by Timor-Leste and Australia. Eni serves as the operator of the field and holds a 40% working interest; Inpex holds 35%; and Talisman Resources holds the remaining 25%.
The oil field was discovered by the Kitan-1 discovery well, drilled by the Songa Venus semisub. The well was drilled to a total depth of 11,706 feet (3,568 meters) and encountered a significant presence of hydrocarbons. Following the discovery, Eni further explored the area and drilled the Kitan-2 well, which was completed on March 30, 2008 and confirmed the presence of an oil accumulation.
It is estimated that Kitan holds about 30 to 40 million barrels of oil and has the potential to produce up to 20,000 bopd. Production is expected to commence in 2011.
Field Development
On June 10, 2008, Kitan received approval for the field's development plan from the Timor Sea Designed Authority. Afterwards, the partners proceeded with development studies of the Kitan field, aiming to devise a development plan within 12 months from receiving the approval. It is projected that the field's subsea wells will be tied-back to an FPSO.
In June 2009, FMC Technologies received a contract valued at $60 million for the manufacture and supply of subsea equipment for the field. The scope of supply includes three subsea production trees and associated control systems and umbilicals. The equipment should be delivered in 2010.
PPP Price at posting:
47.0¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
