SOUTH AMERICA

Petrobras becomes largest publicly traded oil producer

In third-quarter 2014, Petrobras surpassed ExxonMobil’s oil production and is now the largest producer of liquid hydrocarbons among its publicly traded peers, the company said in a press release. Considering oil and natural gas, the company is now fourth in the ranking. In the first nine months of 2014, Petrobras also saw the biggest increase in oil production in both percentage and absolute terms. During the year, Petrobras and ConocoPhillips were the only publicly traded companies to record an increase in oil production—3.3% in the case of Petrobras and 1.5% in ConocoPhillips’ case.

MIDDLE EAST

Total clinches 10% in 40-year Abu Dhabi concession

Total has signed a new 40-year onshore concession agreement with the Supreme Petroleum Council of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. granting Total a 10% participating interest effective Jan. 1, 2015. The concession covers the 15 main onshore oil fields of Abu Dhabi and represents more than half of the Emirates’ production. The new concession will be operated by the Abu Dhabi Co. for Onshore Petroleum Operations Ltd. (ADCO), a new operating company in which Total will be a 10% shareholder. In 2015, ADCO’s expected production is around 1.6 MMbbl/d of oil, with an objective to increase output to 1.8 MMbbl/d from 2017.

CENTRAL ASIA

Kazakhstan grants 15-year Kyzyloi contract extension

Tethys Petroleum’s wholly owned Kazakh subsidiary, TethysAralGaz LLP, has received permission from the energy ministry of the Republic of Kazakhstan to extend the Kyzyloi gas production contract for another 15 years, from June 14, 2014, to Dec. 31, 2029. The ministry granted the extension following the Kazakh State Reserves Committee's approval of the new state reserves for Kyzyloi previously announced in May 2014. The Kyzyloi contract area has been increased by 56% to 449 sq km (173 sq miles) and now encompasses a larger gas-bearing area including the AKK05 well (to be worked over later in first-quarter 2015) and the AKK08 and AKK10 gas wells.

AFRICA

Eni makes discovery in Egypt’s Western Desert

Eni has made a new discovery of oil and gas in the West Melehia deep exploration prospect, located in the Melehia license in the Western Desert of Egypt west of Alexandria, the company said in a press release. The discovery well Melehia West Deep 1X was drilled to a depth of 4,175 m (13,700 ft), meeting a 20-m (66-ft) net mineralized accumulation of light oil in the Lower Cretaceous of the Alam El Bueib Formation. The well also encountered a significant accumulation of gas and condensates in the Upper Jurassic in the Safa Formation. The well began production with an initial flow of 2,100 bbl/d of oil (40°API).

Tullow confirms petroleum system in Kenya

The Epir-1 exploration well, while not a discovery, encountered oil and wet gas shows over a 100-m (328-ft) interval of nonreservoir quality rocks, demonstrating a working petroleum system in the North Kerio Basin. The Epir-1 exploration well is located in Block 10BB in the North Kerio Basin, a separate sub-basin from that tested by the Kodos-1 well 25 km (15.5 miles) to the southwest. Further exploration activities will be considered in the North Kerio Basin following analysis and integration of the data collected from the well.

AUSTRALIA

BG Group loads first LNG cargo from QCLNG project

BG Group began loading the first cargo of LNG from its Queensland Curtis LNG (QCLNG) facility Dec. 28. The vessel being loaded is the Methane Rita Andrea. The second cargo of LNG from the facility will be loaded onto the Methane Mickie Harper. QCLNG is the world's first LNG project to be entirely supplied by coalseam gas. The start of production from the plant's first LNG train is the result of more than four years of development and construction on Curtis Island. The project will expand further with the startup of the second train in third-quarter 2015. At plateau production, expected during 2016, QCLNG will have an output of about 8 million mt of LNG a year.

Spectrum begins survey offshore Western Australia

Spectrum has commenced the first phase of its 11,000-km (6,835-mile) Rocket multiclient 2-D seismic survey in the South Carnarvon and North Perth basins offshore Western Australia. This phase comprises 4,200 km (2,610 miles). The new acquisition program has been designed to complement the newly acquired Geoscience Australia research survey in the Houtman Basin. Additionally, Phase 1 of the Spectrum survey ties with wells DSDP 0263, Herdsman 1 and Pendock 1. The seismic data are being collected by the vessel M/V Duke operated by GardlineCGG. Data will be acquired using a deep tow cable and then processed by DUGeo in Perth, Australia, using its DUG Broad Deghosting.

ASIA-PACIFIC

KrisEnergy starts West Papua 2-D seismic acquisition

KrisEnergy Ltd. has commenced a 300-km (186-mile) 2-D seismic acquisition program recording in the Udan Emas production-sharing contract (PSC) onshore West Papua. The data acquisition program, which was awarded to PT Quest Geophysical Asia, forms part of the work obligations under the PSC. The program is expected to last four months. KrisEnergy also plans to undertake airborne gravity and magnetic surveys in the block, which covers 5,400 sq km (2,085 sq miles) over the Bintuni Basin, a proven prolific gas province containing several multiple-Tcf gas discoveries.

EUROPE

Spike gains four licenses on the NCS

Spike Exploration Holding AS has been awarded interests in four licenses in the 2014 Norwegian Awards in Predefined Areas License Round on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS): three in the North Sea and one on Haltenbanken. Work commitments are a mix of reprocessing of seismic and acquisition of existing or new 3-D seismic, all followed by a drill-or-drop decision. The NCS licenses are PL775 east of Sleipner fields and to the southwest of the Johan Sverdrup discovery, PL777 to the north of the Sleipner fields and to the east of the Glitne Field, PL790 to the northwest of the Garantiana and Akkar Updip discoveries in PL554, and PL797 to the east of Spinell discovery in PL690.

Serinus: Well finds hydrocarbons in Romania

The Moftinu-1002bis well has hit hydrocarbon pay in the Satu Mare Concession in northwest Romania, Serinus Energy said in a news release. The well, which was spudded in early December, reached a total depth of 2,083 m (6,834 ft) on Dec. 27, 2014. Openhole wireline logs, mud logs and drill cuttings indicate seven Cenezoic-aged sandstones with an aggregate of 90.5 m (297 ft) of hydrocarbon-bearing rock and 22 m (72 ft) of potential net pay.

GULF OF MEXICO

McDermott barge completes heavy lift of jacket in GoM

The Derrick Barge 50 completed the installation of a drilling and production platform for the U.S. Gulf of Mexico continental shelf that included the heavy lift of a 3,250-ton jacket, McDermott International Inc. said in a press release. This lift established the record for the largest jacket lifted by the vessel to date. The six-pile platform was lifted by the Derrick Barge 50 in tie-back mode over the stern of the vessel in waters 119 m (391 ft) deep over an existing well site. Piles were driven to a designed penetration of 131 m (430 ft), and a 2,300-ton drilling and production deck was then installed on the jacket.

Chevron partners with BP, ConocoPhillips

Chevron Corp.’s subsidiary, Chevron U.S.A. Inc., will work with BP Exploration and Production Inc. and ConocoPhillips Co. to explore and appraise 24 jointly held offshore leases in the northwest portion of Keathley Canyon in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GoM). Chevron will be the operator, according to a press release. The transaction encompasses the Tiber and Gila discoveries and the Gibson exploratory prospect. The scope of the collaboration between Chevron, BP and ConocoPhillips includes further exploration and appraisal of these GoM leases as well as evaluating the potential of a centralized production facility.