Faroe: Brasse Sidetrack Hits Oil, Gas in North Sea

Executives at Faroe Petroleum are assessing the options for its Brasse discovery in the Norwegian North Sea after a sidetrack appraisal well encountered a 82-ft (25-m) gross oil column and a 20-ft (6-m) gross gas column.

Faroe, operator with 50% interest, said the objective of the well—31/7-1A—was to appraise the southeastern part of the hydrocarbon bearing structure previously identified by the main discovery well. The results, which are based on extensive coring, wireline logging and sampling, showed hydrocarbons found in Jurassic reservoir sandstones are similar to those seen in the main well, Faroe said.

The company estimates total gross volumes of recoverable hydrocarbons are between 28 MMbbl and 54 MMbbl of oil and 89 Bcf (2.5 Bcm) and 158 Bcf (4.4 Bcm) of gas.

“This discovery in one of our core areas builds, via this low cost exploration and appraisal well, on Faroe’s already significant position in the Norwegian North Sea,” Faroe Petroleum CEO Graham Stewart said. “Work will now begin on assessing options for monetizing this important new asset, given its significant resource estimates and close proximity to existing infrastructure.”

As previously reported, the Brasse discovery well (31/7-1) encountered about 69 ft (21 m) of gross oil-bearing and about 59 ft (18 m) of gross gas-bearing Jurassic reservoir.

Options for tieback to existing infrastructure exist, with the Brage, Oseberg Sør and Oseberg field platforms nearby.

Searcher Kicks Off PSDM 3-D Project in Australia

As Searcher Seismic takes aim at fault seals and complex migration pathways in Western Australia’s Carnarvon Basin, the company said it is looking for keys that could unlock discoveries in the area as it begin its Olympus 3-D reprocessing project.

Working with Spectrum, the project entails reprocessing 20 existing 3-D datasets through a broadband prestack time and depth migration (PSTM and PSDM) workflow, Searcher said in a news release. Moving north from the Rankin Platform, the project covers Jurassic reservoirs in the Angel, Calypso and Legendre formations, with multiple potential sources including the Dingo Claystone and the Muderong Shale, Searcher said. The effort is intended to create “a high-quality, cost-effective dataset for near field exploration.”

Processing is taking place at DownUnder GeoSolutions’ Perth facility.

UK Taps PGS, WesternGeco for Seismic Campaign

The U.K. Oil and Gas Authority has awarded contracts to PGS and WesternGeco to acquire seismic data to promote underexplored areas of the U.K. Continental Shelf (UKCS), according to a news release.

Using the Nordic Explorer, PGS will pursue seismic from the East Shetland Platform, while WesternGeco—using WG Magellan—will cover Southwest Britain. Together, the companies aim to gather up to 9,320.5 miles (15,000 km) of new seismic data from underexplored frontier areas.

The East Shetland Platform campaign includes the East Orkney Basin, East Fair Isle Basin and Dutch Bank Basin. The Southwest Britain campaign will include the Celtic Sea, Western English Channel, Bristol Channel, St George’s Channel and the Irish Sea.

If environmental approvals are secured, acquisition will begin in July. Hopes are for acquisition to be finished sometime in fourth-quarter 2016 and released to the industry in second-quarter 2017, the release said.

“Last year’s program, which covered the Rockall Trough and Mid-North Sea High areas, sparked significant interest in these frontier areas of the UKCS with more than 3,000 downloads of the standard seismic data packages,” OGA E&P Director Gunther Newcombe. “Studies of these areas are being carried out, which will provide valuable insight into their potential ahead of the 29th Offshore Licensing Round, which we hope to announce imminently, subject to completion of the Strategic Environmental Assessment.”

UTEC Wraps Up ROV, Seismic Node Project in Deepwater GoM

UTEC Survey, an Acteon company, has completed an ROV navigation and seismic node positioning project in deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GoM).

Through use of acoustics and inertial positioning technology, the project aimed to not only increase cost savings but also simplify operations, increase efficiencies and reduce job time, the company said in a news release.

“A key element was the creation of an improved navigation software package incorporating the latest NavView technology from data and positioning analysis expert 4D Nav. The system provided enhanced and precise positioning awareness along with the management of inertial sensors and a bespoke link to FairfieldNodal’s data acquisition system,” UTEC said. “The real-time software enabled UTEC to integrate three separate positioning modules into one comprehensive package to increase efficiency and streamline user operations.”

The project was conducted for FairfieldNodal at a water depth of 7,956 ft (2,425 m).

Offshore