The Pecan field is an oil and gas field located offshore Ghana in the Gulf of Guinea. The field lies in the Deepwater Tano Cape Three Points block (DWT/CT), which is jointly owned by Aker Energy (50%, operator), Lukoil (38%), Fueltrade (2%) and Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (10%).
The Pecan field was earlier owned by Hess and acquired by Aker Energy’s subsidiary Aker Energy Ghana in June 2018. First oil from the field is expected in the fourth quarter of 2021.
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Ghana currently produces 196,089 barrels per day (bpd), which is expected to increase to 420,020bpd in 2023 and 500,000bpd by 2025. The development of the Pecan field, as well as the other fields in the DWT/CTP block, is expected to be a major contributor to the increase in production.
Pecan field location
The Pecan field is located 166km south-west of Takoradi in the DWT/CT offshore Ghana in 2,400m of water. It is considered to be among the deepest deep-water fields in the world.
The DWT/CTP block is centrally located within the Tano Basin, offshore Ghana, covering an area of more than 2,000km².
Seven discoveries have already been made in the block, including Paradise, Hickory North, Beech, Almond, Cob, Pecan North and Pecan, of which Pecan is the biggest discovery to date. The developers are expected to invest more than $10bn.
Pecan field discovery details
The Pecan field was discovered in December 2012 by the Pecan-1 exploration well, which was drilled by Hess to a depth of 15,420ft. It encountered 245ft of net oil pay in two distinct Turonian-aged intervals.
The field was appraised with five reservoir penetrations and drill-stem tests were also conducted, which proved the presence of light, under-saturated oil with good properties.
Initial reserves at the field were 230 million metric barrels of oil equivalent (Mmboe).
Pecan field appraisal and development
Aker Energy drilled the Pecan 4A appraisal well to a depth of 4,870m in 2,667m of water. The well was drilled to study geology in the area, confirm oil-water contact in the field reservoir and test the extension of the field.
Existing discoveries located in the DWT/CTP block are estimated to contain gross contingent resources (2C) between 450Mmboe and 550Mmboe.
Aker Energy plans to drill two more appraisal wells at Pecan. The appraisal activities are expected to boost the total estimated reserves to between 600Mmboe and 1,000Mmboe, which will be included in the Plan of Development (POD).
The Pecan field will be developed with a purpose-built floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel connected to a subsea production system. It is expected to serve as the main hub for the development of the other discoveries located within the block.
Drilling infrastructure details
The Pecan 4A appraisal well was drilled by the Maersk Viking deep-water drillship owned by Maersk Drilling. It is a Samsung 96K designed drillship built in 2014 and has a maximum drilling depth of 40,000ft. The ship’s advanced position control system is capable of withstanding extreme weather with waves up to 11m and wind speeds up to 26m/s.
Hess used the Stena DrillMAX drillship for the Pecan-1 discovery well. The DrillMAX is a dynamically positioned DP Class 3 drillship built in 2007. It has a mono-hull design and is capable of operating in water depths up to 10,000ft.
Contractors involved
Maersk Drilling was awarded the drilling contract for the Pecan 4A appraisal well. The contract includes an option to drill two additional wells.
Halliburton Ghana was contracted to provide drilling support and well services for the Pecan field, while Exceed Well Management Ghana was contracted for well design and management.
