The Rang Dong MV17, a newbuild floating, storage, and offloading (FSO) vessel, is the first project MODEC has completed with COSCO (Zhoushan) Shipyard Co. Ltd. The vessel achieved first oil on Nov. 5, 2008, on the Rang Dong field offshore Vietnam for the Japan Vietnam Petroleum Co. Ltd. The FSO, which is working in 197 ft (60 m) water depth, has a storage capacity of 350,000 bbl and a total inlet capacity of 60,000 b/d.
The Rang Dong field is on Block 15-2 approximately 84 miles (135 km) southeast of Vung Tau City.

Exploration

Paradigm, InnoCentive sign global agreement

Paradigm has signed an agreement to expand internal technology development by posting critical high-priority challenges to InnoCentive for open innovation. InnoCentive, a Web-based company, connects companies, academic institutions, public sector, and non-profit organizations with a global network of scientists. The agreement connects Paradigm’s science and technology experts with InnoCentive’s global network of “solvers,” a community of progressive physicists, chemists, mathematicians, and other scientists.

EMGS awarded GoM contract

Electromagnetic Geoservices ASA (EMGS) has been awarded a contract with the independent prospect generation company FOCUS Exploration to license multiclient electromagnetic data for exploration purposes in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). The contract is worth more than US $4.6 million, with the potential for additional work and revenues for EMGS. The work program has already been acquired using dense, wide-azimuth Clearplay Test and Clearplay Evaluate 3-D grids to identify small reservoirs.

WesternGeco lands Gazprom contract

WesternGeco has been awarded a major land contract by Gazprom Libya B.V. for the acquisition and processing of 1,313 sq miles (3,400 sq km) of 3-D seismic data over the Ghadames Basin. Gazprom has selected the WesternGeco Q-Land high-channel-count, integrated point-receiver acquisition and processing system to acquire the data.

Drilling

Drilling contracts awarded

In late October, Italy-based Saipem received $1.1 billion in drilling contracts in Peru and Venezuela. The company said in a statement that the contracts include several operators chartering 17 onshore rigs with various power capacities. The contracts will begin between Q4 2008 and Q1 2009. Each contract has an average term of five years.

Rig deals blown

Oslo, Norway-based Northern Offshore credits the financial crisis for its recent failure to secure financing for the purchase of two drilling units from Transocean Inc. Northern had agreed to purchase two semisubmersibles in October, but failed to gain lender consents for the deal. As of early November, the company was holding talks to identify alternative arrangements. The original deal was set in July for the GSF Arctic II and the GSF Arctic IV for a total price of $750 million.

Heritage rig for Kurdistan

Activity in Kurdistan is heating up. Heritage Oil acquired the GW Rig 10 from Great Wall Drilling to spud its Miran West-1 well by the end of 2008. Recent seismic shoots suggest that Kurdistan’s Miran Block could hold billions of barrels of oil, according to Heritage. The most recent well in its Kurdistan program will be drilled to a total depth of 9,843 ft (3,000 m) targeting three principle reservoirs. Two large structures, Miran West and Miran East, were mapped from 206 miles (332 km) of 2-D seismic acquired by Heritage from April to June 2008.

Ultra-deepwater contract

Transocean has secured a five-year contract for its as yet unnamed ultra-deepwater drillship equipped for operations to 10,000 ft (3,050 m) of water with an upgrading capacity to 12,000 ft (3,600 m). The drillship is capable of drilling to a total depth of 40,000 ft (12,200 m).

The five-year contract will begin in Q4 2010, following construction of the vessel. Revenues are expected to range from $1.17 to $1.19 billion. The commencement date will be tied to vendor performance, and the revenues are depend on countries of operation throughout the contract term. The dynamically positioned, double-hull drillship is to be built in Ulsan, South Korea, with a beginning date in January 2009. Total capex for the
project is estimated at $740 million.

$1 billion rig deal

Norway-based Sevan Marine has pulled off a $1 billion deal to construct two of its deepwater drilling rigs in spite of the credit crunch. Sevan Marine subsidiary Sevan Driller will provide 70% of the build costs for the Sevan Driller II and Sevan Driller III, which have been contracted by Brazil’s Petrobras and India’s ONGC.

Rig extended for Cantarell field

Interpetroleum Services Ltd. has awarded a letter of intent to Prosafe for an extension of the bareboat contract of the semisubmersible Jasminia for Pemex in its Cantarell field in the Mexican GoM.

The total value of the bareboat contract is $33 million. The contract also includes a series of mutually agreeable six-month extensions, which if used could extend the contract period to mid-February 2013.

Production

Pilot project update

North Peace Energy Corp. has confirmed that construction of its Red Earth Cyclic Steam Stimulation pilot plant is advancing as planned. The company anticipates steam injection will begin with the L2 horizontal well in Dec. 2008.

The company will be evaluating steam stimulation and production performance data throughout the steam injection and production cycles of the L1 and L2 wells. North Peace Energy plans to use this data in evaluating the feasibility of a commercial project.

Halliburton expands again in Asia Pacific

Halliburton has inaugurated its manufacturing and technology center in Singapore, the company’s second expansion in the Asia Pacific region this year. The 218,000-sq-ft (20,252 sq-m) facility will produce sophisticated electronic sensors used in the company’s signature logging-while-drilling tools and openhole wireline logging services. The facility also serves as a repair and maintenance facility for drilling tools used throughout the region.

EIC launches EICDataStream

The Energy Industries Council (EIC) has launched a new database that tracks several thousand international projects in the oil and gas sector and across the global energy industry, providing members with a unique and timely business intelligence solution. According to the company, the EICDataStream is the only database in the energy industry offering in-depth quality information for a wide range of global projects and can search on the latest project information using a number of parameters, including company, contract type, value range, project status, region, and country.

Offshore

ABS, RS train arctic LNG carrier surveyors

The American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RS) have initiated a joint training program covering surveying of arctic liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers for a team of surveyors drawn from both societies. Classroom instruction in early October in St. Petersburg, Russia, was to be followed by a prolonged period of field training at shipyards for new construction and on ABS-classed, trading LNG carriers for in-service surveys.

The training program is a further extension of the agreement between the two societies to jointly develop Rules for arctic LNG carrier operations based on shared experience gained in Russian, Canadian, and US waters. The new joint criteria will draw on this shared experience and include the application of advanced technology using risk analysis, testing, and computational methods.

Aker receives LOI

Aker Solutions, in a joint venture with WorleyParsons and CB&I, has received a letter of intent (LOI) for the Kashagan full field development front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract.

The Phase 2 project FEED scope of work includes onshore and offshore facilities and pipelines, with options for services post-Phase 2 FEED, which include early work, detailed engineering and procurement services, technical assistance, and design/system integrity. There also are optional FEEDs for the Aktote, Kairan, and Kalamkas fields.
The Kashagan oil field lies in the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea.

Sembawang Shipyard lands contract

In late October, the International Gas Transportation Co. Ltd. (IGTC), parent shipping company of the North West Shelf Venture, awarded Sembcorp Marine a longevity contract for a life extension of the Northwest Sanderling LNG carrier.

According to Sembawang Shipyard, this contract is a milestone agreement, marking the first time that a major LNG operator has committed to a long-term longevity program to extend its vessel’s future trading life. This award is a great boost to Singapore’s marine industry and its status as a major ship repair center at a time when the country is preparing itself to be a major hub in the LNG sector.

Marathon secures deepwater rigs for GoM

Marathon’s board of directors has sanctioned the deepwater Droshky and Ozona development projects in the GoM. Droshky will be developed at a cost of $1.3 billion, while $300 million has been allocated to Ozona.

The company expects to initially book proved reserves of approximately 29,000 boe for the two fields, with additional bookings expected upon completion.

The Droshky discovery lies in 2,900 ft (884 m) water depth in Green Canyon Block 244, about 140 miles (225 km) south-southwest of Venice, La., and about 18 miles (29 km) southeast of Shell’s Bullwinkle platform. The project will consist of four development wells, which will be tied back to Bullwinkle.

The Ozona discovery is in Garden Banks Block 515 in 3,000 ft (914 m) of water about 175 miles (282 km) southeast of Sabine, Texas, and about 6 miles (10 km) from Shell’s Auger platform.

First production is expected in 2011, with an anticipated net peak rate of about 6,000 b/d of oil and 13 MMcf/d of natural gas after royalties.