Bankers Petroleum: Setting the Standards
Exploration & Processing
Written by Adam Swift   
Wednesday, 30 June 2010
Bankers Petroleum: Setting the Standards
Using a mix of experience and technology, this gas and oil exploration company is looking to increase production in the largest onshore oilfield in Central Europe.
Premier Business Partners:

Grenco Industries
Kudu Industries
Phoenix Technology Services
Simmons Energy (Overseas Drilling Ltd.)
Bankers Petroleum is a Canadian-based gas and oil exploration company focused on maximizing the potential of its heavy oil assets in Albania. The company has succeeded through a mix of good relations with the government and vendors in Albania and targeting growth in production and reserves with new and proven technologies, according to Suneel Gupta, vice president for production and operations.

“One of our biggest challenges has been working with the culture in Albania,” said Gupta. Because Albania is still a fairly young democracy, Gupta said there are still some issues with getting people to understand the benefits of capitalism, but he said the workforce has gotten stronger and more reliable over the years.

Bankers Petroleum: Setting the Standards
Suneel Gupta, vice president for production and operations
“We’ve been working with the government so both sides have a better idea of what we are doing,” Gupta said. “We are setting the standard for exploration in Albania.”

The company operates and has full rights to develop the Patos Marinza and Kucova heavy oilfields thanks to a 25-year license with the Albanian National Agency for Natural Resources and a petroleum agreement with the state-owned oil and gas corporation. “The Patos Marinza oilfield is the largest onshore oilfield in continental Europe, holding approximately 5.7 billion barrels of original oil in place,” said Gupta.

Although the company’s main focus is on the Patos Marinza oilfield, it is making some inroads in the Kucova field, which has 297 million barrels of original oil in place. It’s also positioned to explore additional oilfield development opportunities in Albania, according to Gupta. “We are truly a well run organization with a strong growth plan,” he said.

Currently, Bankers Petroleum is taking about 9,000 barrels of oil per day from the Patos Marinza, but Gupta said he expects that number to increase to as much as 24,000 barrels per day in the coming years. Production in the fourth quarter of 2009 was about by 10% higher than the same time the previous year.

Looking at the upside
The company focuses on petroleum assets that have long-life reserves with production growth potential. “We’re working to optimize our existing assets from the application of primary, secondary, and enhanced oil recovery extraction technologies,” Gupta said.

The development plan for the Patos Marinza oilfield includes increasing capital expenditures for the reactivation of existing wells, vertical and horizontal infill development drilling, and the initiation of waterflood development and thermal programs to substantially increase production and reserves. The development plan for the Kucova oilfield will incorporate many of the extraction techniques used in the Patos Marinza field.

Overall, Gupta said the company’s experience in Albania and its ability to bring in experienced people
has put it in the position to be a leader in the Central European country. “We’ve been able to work with the culture in Albania, and we’re in a great financial position with the ability to make quick decisions,” he said.

Since 2004, the company has invested more than $300 million in the development of the 44,000-acre Patos Mazina oilfield, helping to improve local environmental and health and safety standards and benefitting Albania’s economy, according to Gupta. When the company took over the production of the field in 2004,
production was at only 600 barrels per day, compared to the current level of nearly 9,000.

A variety of drilling methods
Bankers Petroleum uses a variety of recovery methods to access multiple hydrocarbon zones.

In the CSS (cyclic steam stimulation) method, steam saturates the oilsands formation, softening and diluting
the bitumen so it can flow to the well during the production phase. The conventional chops method uses a rotary table on the rig floor to rotate the Kelly drive, which turns the drill pipe and drill bit. As the drill bit penetrates deeper, the crew threads additional pipe onto the top of the drill string, and the resource is then pumped out.

The company also uses the horizontal well method, which uses the same method as the conventional chops method, but instead of going straight down, the pipe is curved to access resources on the same horizontal level rather than from varying depths. The horizontal wells SAGD method is used for the extraction of heavy oil by drilling a pair of horizontal wells one above the other, with one well used for steam injection and the other for production.

Banker’s also uses the vertical wells, or waterflood method, where water is injected into the reservoir foundation to displace residual oil. The water from injection wells physically sweeps the displaced oil to adjacent production wells.

Benefitting investors
Ultimately, the company’s dedication to bringing in experienced personnel and using a varied approach to drilling pays dividends to its investors, according to Gupta. “Our three-year strategic plan provides significant potential for growth in production reserves through the primary, secondary, and tertiary extraction techniques,” he said.

The strategic allocation of the work program and budget for the current is flexible by having multiple capital spending scenarios that are oil price sensitive and is designed to provide additional recoverable reserves at the Patos Marinza and Kucova oilfields. 
 
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