MO823 - W & T

Location and Geology

• The Mobile 823 conventional gas field is located in shallow water in the Gulf of Mexico, specifically within the blocks Mobile 822, Mobile 823, Mobile 778, Mobile 779, and Mobile 824.
• The field is situated in the coastal waters of Alabama, within the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) of the Gulf of Mexico.

Water Depth

• The water depth at the Mobile 823 field is approximately 55 feet.

Operator and Ownership

• The field is operated and owned by W&T Offshore, Inc., an independent oil and natural gas company based in Houston, Texas.

Production History

• The Mobile 823 field began production in 1988, about nine years after the initial discovery and lease acquisition by Mobil Oil Company in 1969.
• The field reached its peak production in 1995. As of recent data, the field has recovered 98.93% of its total recoverable reserves.

Current Production Status

• Based on economic assumptions, production from the Mobile 823 field is expected to continue until it reaches its economic limit in 2027.

Technological and Operational Details

• The field has seen the implementation of advanced technology, such as the use of large-diameter production tubing, which was introduced in the late 1990s. For example, Mobil's well 95-5, located on the southern edge of the tract, produced up to 70 MMCFD (million cubic feet per day) before stabilizing at 50 MMCFD.

Processing and Infrastructure

• The gas produced from the Mobile 823 field is processed in facilities that are shared among various operators. For instance, some of Exxon's gas is processed in Mobil's 823 plant, and Chevron processes its gas in Shell's Yellowhammer plant to optimize the use of existing processing capacity.

Reserves and Production Forecast

• As part of the broader Alabama-Destin Dome production, the cumulative production from the Norphlet and Miocene gas reserves, including those from the Mobile 823 field, was forecasted to reach and sustain levels of 1.4-1.6 BCFD (billion cubic feet per day) between 2002 and 2004.

Regulatory and Historical Context

• The development of the Mobile 823 field was part of a larger exploration and development effort in the Gulf of Mexico, particularly in the Alabama state and federal OCS waters. The field's development was facilitated by lease sales and regulatory frameworks that allowed for efficient development without significant delays.