[Editor's note: This article and video originally appeared in the October issue of E&P Plus. Subscribe to the digital publication here.] 

1. Guyana

Exxon Mobil announced two additional reservoirs in the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana. The additional reservoirs are adjacent to and southeast of the Yellowtail Field discovery well. According to partner Hess Corp., these are the 17th and 18th oil discoveries on the block. The new findings increase the recoverable resource base to more than 8 Bboe. The most recent well, Yellowtail-2, was drilled about 1 mile southeast of Yellowtail-1 to appraise its size, and it found the two new discoveries adjacent to the discovery reservoir and below it. Drilling operations were recently suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but operations are continuing at exploration well Redtail-1, which is northwest of Yellowtail-1. The reported net production from the Liza Field averaged 22,000 bbl/d of oil in the second quarter of 2020, but the field hit 120,000 bbl/d in the third quarter after the commissioning of water injection equipment and bringing gas injection fully online

2. Suriname

A discovery was reported in offshore Suriname’s Block 58 by Apache Corp. The Kwaskwasi-1 well was drilled to 6,645 m and hit 278 m of net oil and volatile oil/gas condensate pay in multiple stacked targets in Upper Cretaceous Campanian and Santonian intervals. The shallower Campanian interval contained 63 m of net oil pay and 86 m of net volatile oil/gas condensate pay. Samples indicate between 34°API and 43°API oil. The deeper Santonian interval contains 129 m of net hydrocarbon reservoir. After completion operations are done at Kwaskwasi-1, the rig will be moved to drill Keskesi East-1. Apache has identified at least seven distinct play types and more than 50 prospects within the thermally mature play fairway.

3. Norway

Neptune Energy has confirmed the commercial discovery of oil at the Dugong prospect in PL882 in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. The volumes are estimated to be in the range of 40 MMboe to 120 MMboe. The discovery has significantly de-risked another prospect in the license estimated by Neptune at 33 MMboe and an estimated total resource potential in PL882 to as much as 153 MMboe. The Dugong prospect consists of two reservoirs at a depth between 3,250 m and 3,500 m. Area water depth at the site is approximately 330 m, and it is close to production facilities. Discovery well 34/4-15 S and the downdip sidetrack 34/4-15 A proved oil in the Viking and Brent Groups of the prospect. These are the first exploration wells in PL882. The well will be plugged and abandoned. Neptune Energy is the operator of PL882, Block 34/4 and 34/4-15 S with 40% interest in partnership with Concedo (20%), Petrolia (20%) and Idemitsu Petroleum (20%).

4. Poland

Polish Oil and Gas Co. completed another well in the Mielec–Bojanów fields at Korzeniówek-2K. Together with the previous appraisal well in the area, Korzeniówek-1, it will add approximately 9.5 Bcf/year of gas to the company’s gas output. Both discoveries are in Debica County and produce from the Carpathian Foredeep Basin (Miocene).

5. Egypt

In the Western Desert in the Southwest Meleiha Concession, Eni announced a discovery in the Faghur Basin. The SWM-A-6X well was drilled to 15,800 ft and encountered 130 ft of net oil pay in Paleozoic sandstones of Dessouky. It was tested flowing approximately 12,000 bbl/d of oil and is about 130 km north of the Siwa Oasis in the basin. The well was already placed onstream with an output of 5,000 bbl/d of oil.

6. Egypt

Eni announced a gas and condensate discovery at the Bashrush 1 prospect in the North El Hammad Concession in the Egyptian sector of the Nile Delta in the Mediterranean Sea in Block 7. The discovery well was tested flowing about 32 MMcf/d of gas. The test was constrained by equipment capacity and is projected to be capable of an output of up to 100 MMcf/d of gas with 800 bbl/d of condensate.

7. Israel

Zion Oil & Gas has received drilling plan approval from the Israel Ministry of Energy for Megiddo Jezreel 2 on the 99,000-acre Megiddo-Jezreel license area in northeastern Israel. The well has a planned depth of 4,000 m. According to the company, the rig delivery has been delayed due to COVID-19 and restricted visa issuance within Israel for Zion’s rig crews.

8. Australia

A gas discovery in offshore Australia’s Otway Basin was reported by Origin Energy Ltd. at Thylacine-1. The well is in Tasmanian permit T/30P. Preliminary estimates of in-place reserves may be more than 600 Bcf and may exceed 1 Tcf. The 281-m gross gas column is in the Cretaceous Waarre Sand. Additional testing and exploration are planned. 

For more up-to-date information on the latest U.S. and international exploration wells visit Hart Energy’s online Drilling Activity Highlights database.