From Houston (BN): Shell says damage to a key support vessel will not affect its plans to drill in the CHUKCHI SEA (SEN, 32/7) off Alaska this summer. The Fennica is an icebreaker that hauled a regulator-required blowout-control capping stack.

It suffered a 3-foot gash in its hull when it struck an uncharted shallow rock leaving Dutch Harbor to head to the Chukchi. It has been sent to Portland, Oregon, for repairs. The trip takes a week and comes as the clock starts to run on Shell’s limited summer drilling window in the Chukchi. Shell still awaits final regulator permits to drill, which could be affected by the Fennica’s absence.

‘The time it takes to make a safe, permanent fix will dictate the Fennica’s stay in Portland. We do not anticipate any impact on our season as we do not require the vessel until August,’ a Shell spokesman told SEN in an email.

‘While we are not working under any pre-determined timelines, we have said that based on ice forecast, we could begin drilling as soon as late July/early August. We remain committed to operating in a safe, environmentally responsible manner and look forward to exploring our Chukchi leases in the weeks to come.

‘With the approved APDs (Applications for Permit to Drill) pending, it will be up to DOI (Department of Interior) to permit which operations can begin prior to the capping stack, still on the Fennica, returning to the Chukchi Sea. It’s possible that exploration operations can proceed without the capping stack, as long as drilling does not extend into hydrocarbon bearing zones. Building the foundation of a well, prior to entering hydrocarbon zones, is an extensive process and will likely offset the time the Fennica is out of service.’

Freeport McMoRan has won approval of its initial exploration plan for the SPITFIRE prospect in Atwater Valley 149, 150 and 194, in 1,310-1,430m about 258km south-southeast of New Orleans.

The plan is long range, calling for nine 210- to 280-day wells to be drilled between 2018 and 2024. The target is API 28.9-degree oil.

BHP Billiton is sidetracking its SHENZI NORTH-2 exploration well in Gulf of Mexico block GC609. The well is being drilled in 1,309m. It is also drilling ahead in Shenzi North-ST1 in the same block.

BHPB said exploration expenditure for the 2015 financial year was $567mn, of which $481mn was expensed.

Activity for the period was largely focused on the Gulf of Mexico, Western Australia and Trinidad and Tobago.

Operator Statoil and partner Total are mulling development options after making a gas and condensate discovery in the JULIUS prospect in the King Lear (31/23) area in PL146/PL333 in the Norwegian North Sea.

The discovery well 2/4-23S, drilled by the Maersk Gallant, proved gas and condensate in the Ula formation. Statoil estimates the volumes in Julius to be between 15-75mmboe.

The well also provided important information on reservoir distribution and reservoir communication in the 2012 King Lear discovery.

It is expected that the King Lear volumes will stay in the already estimated range of 70-200mmboe.

May-Liss Hauknes, Statoil veep for exploration in the North Sea, said, ‘The King Lear and Julius discoveries are located in one of the most mature parts of the Norwegian continental shelf - just 20km north of Ekofisk, the first commercial NCS discovery made 45 years ago.

‘The discoveries confirm Statoil’s view that even such mature areas of the NCS still have an interesting exploration potential.’

Statoil said the partnership will start working on ‘an optimal plan for a timely development’ of the discovered resources.

POLARCUS has begun a new 3D broadband multi-client project across the Mauritania-Senegal-Guinea-Bissau Basin, offshore Northwest Africa.

The project, supported by industry funding, will cover an area of 1,500 sq km offshore The Gambia and is expected to run for 50 days. Final data products will be available in Q1 2016.

Polarcus said the prefunding has been secured in response to the heightened industry interest in the Cretaceous slope fan and shelf-edge reef plays along the entire MSGB margin subsequent to the recent dual well successes in Senegal.

Edison’s HARIBO prospect exploration well off Norway is being plugged and abandoned after failing to find hydrocarbons.

Spudded on 21 June 2015 the well was drilled by the semisubmersible drilling rig Transocean Searcher on the Haribo prospect, which is located 10 km south west of the Valhall field in the Norwegian North Sea.

TGS has announced a new multi-client 3D survey offshore Eastern Canada with plans to acquire about 4,300 sq km of seismic data. The survey will be conducted in partnership with PGS.

The Ramform Valiant will acquire data in the FLEMISH PASS BASIN over exploration licence (EL) 1135. Data will be acquired during the summer season 2015 with final data available to clients in Q3 2016.

From Houston (BN): The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will hold Western Gulf of Mexico LEASE SALE 246 in New Orleans on 19 August.

The sale will include more than 4,000 blocks from 17km to 463km offshore in water depths ranging from 5 to more than 3,340m.

Among the most interesting areas to watch will be Alaminos Canyon, Keathley Canyon and Sigsbee Escarpment, near the maritime boundary with Mexico.

Details of U.S. Sale 246 are available at http://www.boem.gov/Sale-246/

EMGS has received permits from Mexico's Comisión Nacional de Hidrocarburos (CNH) authorising the acquisition of up to around 88,000 sq km of 3D EM multi-client data in the SALINA DE ITSMO Basin.

EMGS said it will prioritise acquiring EM data for the future bid rounds in Mexico.

‘We are pleased and encouraged by the recently announced five year plan for future licensing rounds offshore Mexico. It pairs well with our plans in Mexico and the received CNH permits and enables us to now actively seek funding of our projects,’ said Juan Santana, president EMGS North and South America.

Australia's Searcher Seismic in cooperation with Russia's MAGE, has completed acquisition of the ECHINDA Regional Broadband 2D seismic survey covering the Porcupine & Slyne Basins and the Goban Spur offshore Ireland.

The Echidna survey, comprising approximately 9,100km of high quality, long-offset broadband 2D seismic data, is the ‘first truly regional, long-offset well tie survey over the Irish Continental Shelf using modern processing and acquisition techniques,’ Searcher Seismic said.

The seismic data is available in both time and depth, with fast track pre-stack time migration (PSTM) data being processed in time for evaluation of the 2015 Atlantic Margin bid round that closes in September. Final data delivery is expected in March 2016.

Offshore