Mexico’s Oil Regulator Approves New GoM Area For Pemex

Mexico’s oil regulator on May 24 approved a promising new deepwater block for state oil company Pemex, but conditioned the allotment on the firm developing the area with a partner that would eventually operate it.

The new Chachiquin area, adjacent to Pemex’s Nobilis-Maximino Block, could produce 80,000 bbl/d of oil once it reaches peak output, according to the regulator’s estimates. Development of the area is not expected to begin until 2024 at the earliest.

“It’s incredibly important for the country to move forward with deepwater projects,” said Hector Moriera, a commissioner with the regulator, known as the CNH, adding that 53% of Mexico’s prospective oil resources are in deepwater deposits. “That’s where much of our country’s oil future lies.”

An auction to pick a partner for Pemex in the Nobilis-Maximino Block, which would only be Mexico’s second deepwater joint venture (JV), was approved last month by the company’s board and is set for year-end 2017.

Nobilis-Maximino is estimated to hold reserves of some 500 MMbbl based on data gathered from five wells drilled in the past and is located just south of Mexico’s maritime border with the U.S. in the Perdido Fold Belt, where dozens of successful projects have been developed on the U.S. side of the same basin in recent decades.

The JV partnerships are fruit of a sweeping sector overhaul finalized in 2014 that ended Pemex’s decades-long monopoly and for the first times allowed JVs in E&P of oil and gas with equity partners.

PGS, TGS Ramp Up Newfoundland-Labrador 3-D Seismic Projects

Petroleum Geo-Services ASA and TGS will ramp up its 3-D seismic acquisition in Newfoundland-Labrador with two new multiclient 3-D seismic projects, according to a news release.

These projects are supported by industry funding.

East Flemish Pass 3-D Phase II is a 1,950-sq km (753-sq mile) extension of a survey acquired by the joint venture in 2016 in eastern Newfoundland. The survey will extend eastward into Block EL1150, which will likely be drilled in the future, the press release said.

Harbour Deep 3-D will comprise a minimum of 2,700 sq km (1,042 sq miles) of 3-D GeoStreamer data in eastern Newfoundland, over held and open acreage to be included in the November 2018 licensing round under Newfoundland-Labrador’s scheduled land tenure system.

Following completion of these surveys, the jointly owned library will have more than 175,000 line km of 2-D GeoStreamer data and 19,400 sq km (7,490 sq miles) of 3-D GeoStreamer data.

Cairn Deems SNE-6 Appraisal Well Results ‘Successful’

Results from Cairn’s SNE-6 appraisal well offshore Senegal have confirmed connectivity with its SNE-5 well, proving oil of similar quality, the company said.

“This is our ninth successful well in Senegal in three years,” Cairn CEO Simon Thomson said in the release. “The results from this latest well, together with SNE-5 and VR-1, provide essential data as we move toward submitting a development plan for the SNE Field to the government of Senegal in 2018.”

Two drillstem tests were conducted in the upper reservoir units, the company said. During the first test oil flowed from an 11-m (36-ft) interval at a maximum rate of about 4,600 bbl/d. For the second test, an additional 12-m (39-ft) zone was added and the well flowed at a maximum of about 5,400 bbl/d. Pressure data from SNE-6 confirmed the upper reservoir is connected with SNE-5.

“Further analysis will be performed once interference test data have been collected from the observation wells, to determine the impact on modeled reservoir architecture, recoverable resource base and forward development plan,” Cairn said. “We expect to provide further information at our half-year results in August.”

SNE-6 was drilled by the Stena DrillMAX drillship, which is moving to the site of the FAN South exploration well. Located about 20 km (12 miles) southwest of the SNE-3 well at a water depth of about 2,175 m (7,136 ft), Cairn said “FAN South is targeting a mean prospective resource of more than 110 MMbbl with dual prospects: an Upper Cretaceous stacked multilayer channelized turbidite fan prospect and a Lower Cretaceous base of slope turbidite fan prospect, which is equivalent to the FAN-1 2014 oil discovery.”

—Staff & Reuters Reports

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