Hondo Field Development and Operations
Authors: Olson R.E. , Olsen D.R. , Rullman J.D. , Vasser F.G. 
Published: October 2008

On April 1, 1981, Exxon initiated production from the Hondo Field in the Santa Ynez Unit through the interdependent operation of the Hondo Platform, an Offshore Storage and Treating vessel (OS&T), and a Single Anchor Leg Mooring (SALM). The initial development of Hondo presented Exxon with many physical and regulatory challenges which have been satisfied through innovative facilities design and successful field operations. This paper will focus on Exxon's experience with the Hondo Field during the first 21 months of operation and will highlight areas of operation which distinguish Hondo from other offshore developments.

Introduction

The Hondo Field IS located in the Santa Barbara Channel five miles off the coast of California. The Hondo Field is the first field to begin production from the Santa Ynez Unit, estimated to contain 300 to 400 million barrels of recoverable oil reserves. Figure 1 illustrates the location of the Hondo Field, the Santa Ynez Unit, and key production support groups for Exxon's Santa Barbara Channel operations.

The Hondo Field initial development plan is shown in Figure 2. Located in 850 feet of water, the Hondo Platform supports drilling and production activities for the field. Production activities on the platform include gas-oil separation and gas compression, dehydration, and reinjection. Hondo currently produces from 20 wells completed in two distinctly different reservoirs. The majority of crude is produced from the Monterey reservoir which yields a sour low gravity crude that forms a stable emulsion with water. Platform facilities are designed to produce a total of 45 thousand barrels per day (KB/D) of crude oil emulsion and 26 million standard cubic feet per day (MSCF/D) of gas through two parallel production trains. Produced emulsion is separated from associated gas and pumped via an emulslon pipeline t o the OS&T for further processing. Three MSCF/D of associated gas is transferred to the OS&T for fuel usage, two MSCF/D is used for gas lift and the remaining gas is reinjected. Gas sales to onshore treating facilities will begin in late 1983.

Produced oil, gas, and water are processed on the OS&T, which is a converted 50K dead weight ton tanker. Principal OS&T process activities include oil - water separation, crude stabilization, fuel gas treating, and sulfur recovery. Sour crude oil emulsion containing approximately eight percent water and 100 parts per million (ppm) hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is treated in dehydration and sweetening facilities to a cargo specification of three percent water and 10 ppm H2S. The OS&T is capable of storing 210 K barrels of treated crude, which is offloaded to shuttle tankers approximately every five days. Water separated from the emulsion is treated then pumped to Hondo for injection into disposal wells. Sour gas from the Hondo Platform is sweetened from an H2S concentration of approximately two and one-half percent down to 35 ppm using an amine process. The processed gas is used to fuel two 19 megawatt (MW) turbine generators which provide power for the field.