From Australia (RW): Chevron has made a new gas discovery in its ISOSCELES-1 wildcat in the Greater Gorgon (31/23) area off Western Australia.

The well has encountered a 134m net gas pay in the Triassic-age Mungaroo Sand reservoir about 95km northwest of Barrow Island where the Gorgon-Jansz LNG plant is nearing completion. Water depth at the discovery well is 968m.

The find is a continuation of the company’s exploration success in the region and adds to the resources available to the LNG project.

The existing $54bn project aims to produce 15.6mt/a of LNG with first cargoes scheduled for the latter part of this year.

Kosmos Energy is planning an appraisal programme on its TORTUE WEST (31/22) prospect, offshore Mauritania, after its Tortue-1 exploration well in Block C-8 made a ‘significant, play-opening’ gas discovery.

Based on the preliminary analysis of drilling results and intermediate logging to a depth of 4,630m, Tortue-1 has intersected 107m of net hydrocarbon pay.

Located approximately 285km southwest of Nouakchott in 2,700m, and drilled with the drillship Atwood Achiever, Tortue-1 well is now drilling to planned total depth of approximately 5,250m.

Kosmos said a single gas pool was encountered in the primary Lower Cenomanian objective, which is comprised of three excellent quality multi-Darcy reservoirs totaling 88m in thickness over a gross hydrocarbon bearing interval of 160m.

Andrew G. Inglis, chairman/ceo, said, ‘Volumetrically, the Tortue-1 well has far exceeded our pre-drill expectations and has discovered a large scale gas resource. Our seismic imaging indicates the areal extent of Tortue West could cover approximately 90km2 that will be better defined with appraisal drilling.’

As well as the appraisal programme being planned to delineate the Tortue West discovery, the Marsouin-1 exploration well, located in the central part of Block C-8, is expected to spud in Q3 2015.

An exploration programme is also being formulated to test the other prospects in the Greater Tortue Complex, which extends into the St. Louis Offshore Profond Block in Senegal, including the Tortue East and Tortue North prospects.

A 3D seismic survey acquired over its Senegal blocks in 2014 is currently being processed and interpreted.

AGR has signed an MoU with SP Offshore to drill an ultra-deepwater well off the COMOROS ISLANDS between Mozambique and the Comoros.

SP Offshore works exclusively for Western Energy and Safari Petroleum which were awarded a production sharing contract in blocks 38, 39, and 40 in the Comoros in March 2014. It now plans a programme of exploration studies including seismic interpretation, basin modelling, and resource assessments, followed by the drilling of the wildcat.

Rockhopper Exploration says the Erik Raude rig has now completed repairs to the BOP control system and the subsequent re-testing of the BOP stack following its return to the ISOBEL DEEP (32/2) well off the Falklands, where drilling re-started on 11 May.

Since suspending operations on the Isobel Deep (14/20-1) well on 24 April, the rig has spudded and suspended the Jayne East (14/15c-6) well at 541m on 29 April and spudded and suspended the Chatham (14/10-10) well at 1,388m on 4 May.

From Australia (RW): Karoon Gas’ test of the ECHIDNA-1 wildcat in the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil, resulted in a stabilised oil flowrate of 4,650b/d from Paleocene reservoirs with a flowing head pressure of 504psi on a 1in choke.

The flow, over a two-hour period, was constrained by the test facilities. An earlier drillstem test over the intervals 1,767m-1,806m and 1,813m-1,843m over a 24-hour period averaged a stabilised flow of 3,200b/d through a 44/64in choke with a wellhead flowing pressure of 733psi and a gas/oil ration of 701ft3/bbl.

Physical oil samples measured 38.6oAPI with a gas/oil raio of 701ft3/bbl. There was no measurable CO2 or SO2 present and no sand production.

Echidna-1 is in Block S-M-1102 and intersected a 213m gross thickness oil column with 104m of net pay across Paleocene and Maastrichtian reservoirs. Karoon says the Maastrichtian section will be evaluated with cores and production tested in ‘more optimally located appraisal wells on the field’. The company added that the Paleocene reservoir quality at Echidna is better than observed anywhere else in Karoon’s Brazilian acreage.

Karoon which operates (65%) for Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp has decided not to take up a second well option. Instead the partners will continue geoscience and engineering work to characterise both Echidna and the earlier Kangaroo (31/23) discoveries. Further appraisal drilling is planned in the ‘near term’. Pre-feed studies will be conducted in parallel with the appraisal drilling program.

Maersk Oil’s Xana-1X exploration well, in licence 9/95 in the Danish sector of the North Sea, has hit pay. The hpht well was drilled in 68m and reached a total drilling depth of 5,071m in the Jurassic formation.

The well was spudded on 8 December 2014 by the jack-up rig Noble Sam Turner and is currently being plugged and abandoned. Partners are assessing the next move.

From Australia (RW): The Cairn Energy-led group has signed up the drillship Ocean Rig Athena for up to six wells surrounding its SNE-1 oil discovery, offshore Senegal, beginning late this year into 2016.

The group, including ConocoPhillips and FAR, has formally submitted a three-year evaluation plan to the government for three firm and three optional exploration and appraisal wells. Ocean Rig Athena is currently working for COP off Angola.

The firm drilling programme of three wells will comprise two appraisals of SNE-1 including cores through and tests of the reservoir. There will also be one shelf exploration well within a 25km radius of the discovery.

In addition the group plans a 2,000km2 3D seismic survey over the Sangomar and Rufisque blocks to aid understanding the prospectivity of the contract area.

SNE has a gross estimate 2C contingent resource of 330mmbbls with excellent reservoir characteristics and Cairn hopes to develop the field by 2020, subject to a successful appraisal campaign.

The three contingent wells are subject to ongoing evaluation of the FAN-1 discovery and the results of the three firm wells.

From Houston (BN): The Guyana Ministry of Natural Resources has said ExxonMobil found hydrocarbons of still-to-be-evaluated quality and quantity at its offshore LIZA prospect.

Also, Petrobras has released an estimate that its ORCA-1 gas discovery, offshore Colombia, contains 28-56bcm.

The Brazilian operator also said it completed a third well in the Sergipe Basin’s MOITA BONITA Area. The well, which energy regulator ANP dubs 3-BRSA-1296-SES, confirms light oil and good reservoir qualities. The well in 2,988m was drilled to 6,060m. It is 94km off the Aracaju coast, 10km from the Sergipe discovery well. Petrobras received the 2015 OTC Distinguished Achievement Award for accomplishments in producing the pre-salt.