EnCana Corp. has filed revised plans for its Deep Panuke offshore gas project that envision a 25% reduction in production from the company’s previous plan. Production could begin in 2010.

Additionally, the new plans call for subsea wellheads with subsea tie-backs instead of platform wells; a single integrated mobile offshore production unit (MOPU) instead of three fixed platforms; a revised field center location, reduced gas export capacity and a greater produced water discharge rate.

In a regulatory filing with the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board (CNSOPB), EnCana outlined its previously approved Deep Panuke plans and revised plans, one making use of the Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline (M&NP) and the other the Sable Offshore Energy Project (SOEP).

Both the M&NP and SOEP plans would entail production of 300 MMcf/d instead of the originally envisioned 400 MMcf/d. Both revised plans would include a maximum of nine subsea wells instead of the originally planned maximum of eight platform wells. The revised plans specify a mean case project life of 13.3 years, up from 11.5 years as originally specified.

The SOEP plan would produce export condensate of 200 cubic meters/d commingled with the gas stream. In the original plan and the M&NP revision, condensate is used for fuel with the surplus injected.

This latest filing by EnCana, North America’s largest independent producer, sets in motion environmental review of the project under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. The CNSOPB and other federal departments will prepare a document on the scope of the assessment, which will be released to the public for written comment. Following finalization of the scoping document, Canada’s minister of the environment will determine whether the project should undergo a comprehensive study or a panel review. A copy of EnCana’s project description is available at www.cnsopb.ns.ca/whatsnew/news_aug-28-6.html.

In July EnCana unveiled its Offshore Strategic Energy Agreement with the province of Nova Scotia, establishing a framework for a do-over of the ill-fated Deep Panuke gas field (see Daily GPI, July 5; June 30), which previously was estimated to cost $1 billion to develop.

Originally estimated to hold up to 1 Tcf of gas and able to produce up to 400 MMcf/d when it was discovered in 2000 (see Daily GPI, Aug. 10, 2000; Feb. 25, 2000), the $1 billion project, located 155 miles southeast of Halifax, was shelved three years ago by EnCana following disappointing drilling results (see Daily GPI, Feb. 18, 2003). The Sable Offshore Energy Project is now the only field in production offshore Nova Scotia, but it is considered by some to be in terminal decline (see Daily GPI, Jan. 10).

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