Located 217 miles (350 kilometers) offshore the eastern coast of Canada's Newfoundland and Labrador, the Hebron heavy oil field is situated in the Jeanne d'Arc Basin in arctic waters measuring 302 feet (92 meters) deep. Estimated to contain between 400 and 700 million barrels of recoverable resources, the Hebron field is positioned near other major Canadian fields of Terra Nova, Hibernia and White Rose.

Hebron project partners include ExxonMobil with 36% interest, Chevon with 26.7%, Petro-Canada with 22.7%, Statoil with 9.7% and Nalcor Energy with 4.9% interest. Although Chevron served as the operator of the project at one point, ExxonMobil became the project operator in October 2008.

The Fields

Discovered in 1981, the Hebron project consists of three fields: the Hebron field, the West Ben Nevis field and the Ben Nevis field. These fields encompass four Significant Discovery Licenses (SDLs), including the Hebron SDL 1006, Hebron SDL 1007, Ben Nevis SDL 1009 and West Ben Nevis SDL 1010.

Additionally, the Hebron project taps four reservoirs, including the Lower Cretaceous Ben Nevis reservoir, the Lower Cretaceous Avalon reservoir, the Lower Cretaceous Hibernia reservoir and the Upper Jurassic Jeanne d’Arc reservoir.

The Ben Nevis and Hebron fields are expected to produce 80% of the crude oil on the project. Crude extricated on the project will consist of a 20-degree API heavy oil, which poses some production challenges.

Field Development

Development of this heavy oil field in arctic conditions almost didn't happen. Project partners in early 2006 suspended talks with the local government because an agreement for development could not be reached, but in mid-2007 formal talks resumed. Signed on Aug. 20, 2008, the government of Newfoundland and Labrador and the project partners formally agreed to the project development.

Hebron is being developed via a stand-alone Gravity Base Structure (GBS) made of reinforced concrete to withstand sea ice, icebergs and the arctic conditions of the region. The Hebron GBS will consist of a single main shaft that encompasses all of the wells and supports the production and living topsides.

Built in modules, the GBS will house production facilities to separate the produced oil, gas and water, as well as treat produced water and compress gas. Oil production capacity for the Hebron facility is planned for a daily rate of 119,506 to 176,115 barrels (19,000 to 28,000 cm) of oil. The facility will also treat 188,694 to 283,041 barrels (30,000 to 45,000 cmpd) of produced water for disposal overboard, and gas will be compressed at a rate of 53.0 to 70.6 MMcf/d (1.5 to 2 MMcm/d). The Hebron GBS will also store up to 1.45 million barrels (230,000 cm) of oil in various storage compartments before export.

Additionally, a single drilling rig will be included in the facility to allow drilling, completion and work over operations from the structure. The development calls for roughly 35 to 45 wells to be drilled, and 13 may be pre-drilled before the project platform is installed in an effort to help with production ramp-up. If these wells are pre-drilled, a drilling rig will be employed sometime between the close of 2012 and the start of 2016.

Also included in the topside will be utility systems and accommodations for a staff of 140 to more than 200. The GBS and the topsides are expected to be mated onshore and towed to the location for installation.

Production

First oil from the Hebron project is scheduled by the close of 2017. Production will first tap crude oil from the Ben Nevis, Hibernia and Jeanne d'Arc reservoirs on the Hebron field, with gas storage in the Ben Nevis reservoir of the West Ben Nevis field. Oil production is expected to be enhanced via water injection, and produced gas is planned to be used for artificial lift.

Produced oil will be exported via an offshore loading system (OLS) consisting of a looped pipeline and two loading points to offload to ice-strengthened tankers.

The production life of the Hebron project is expected to span 30 years, but that may be extended through future developments. Should further exploration in the area warrant expansion of the project, the number of wells could be expanded to 70.