Apache Corporation reported that its Tonto oil field in the United Kingdom sector of the North Sea commenced production on April 24, 2013. Tonto-1, the first producing well, came on stream at an initial rate of 10,346 barrels of oil per day. Apache holds a 100-percent working interest in the Tonto Field.

Tonto-1 was drilled as a deviated well from the Forties Bravo production platform. The appraisal wellbore encountered 62 feet of net oil pay in an Eocene-aged sandstone reservoir at a depth of 6,325 feet, which was followed by a horizontal completion lateral that logged 243 feet (measured depth) of net oil pay.

"Seismic inversion processing unlocked pay in the Tonto field, which lies above the main Forties Paleocene reservoir," said James L. House , Apache's regional vice president for the North Sea. "We penetrated Tonto several times in wells targeting Forties. New seismic techniques enabled Apache's North Sea geoscience team to gain a better understanding of Tonto and establish a development plan."

Tags: Apache Corporation