From Australia (LB): Carnarvon Petroleum and partner Quadrant Energy were due to spud the much-anticipated Roc-1 well offshore Western Australia with the Noble Tom Prosser drilling rig imminently.

The Roc-1 well will target the same Lower Keraudren reservoir in which oil was discovered in the 2014 Phoenix South-1 well in the adjoining WA-435-P.

The Roc-1 well, located in permit WA-437, will be the first follow up prospect to be drilled following the Phoenix South discovery.

Contingent on the success case, the plan is to reenter the Roc-1 well ore in third-quarter 2016 for flow testing and coring.

Carnarvon expects the well to take about 50 to 60 days to complete.

Quadrant is the operator of the WA-437 permit with a 40% stake while Carnarvon holds a 20% interest. Finder Exploration and JX Nippon hold the remaining interest, comprising 20% each.

The Roc prospect is interpreted to contain a greater volume of recoverable oil than Phoenix South, at a shallower depth, with a best case estimate of 42 MMbbl.

Exxon Mobil said it plans to start drilling offshore Liberia in West Africa in late 2016 or early 2017, according to Steven Buck, its country manager for Liberia and Ivory Coast.

The U.S. oil major signed for Block 13 in 2013 but put the project on hold due to the Ebola epidemic.

Kosmos Energy’s Marsouin-1 exploration well, located in the northern part of Block C-8 offshore Mauritania, has made a significant, play-extending gas discovery.

Based on preliminary analysis of drilling and wireline logging results, Marsouin-1 encountered at least 70 m of net gas pay in Upper and Lower Cenomanian intervals comprised of excellent quality reservoir sands.

Located about 60 km north of the basin-opening Tortue-1 (32/5) gas discovery (renamed Ahmeyim), Marsouin-1 was drilled in nearly 2,400 m of water.

The Atwood Achiever drillship will now move to the Ahmeyim-2 location in the southern part of Mauritania’s Block C-8 where it will drill the top-hole section of the well.

The drillship is then expected to sail to Senegal where it will spud Guembeul-1, the first in a series of wells to delineate the Greater Tortue area, before year-end 2015.

From Houston (BN): Cobalt has formally taken over as operator of Goodfellow (32/16) in Keathley Canyon block 129. Cobalt’s newly approved exploration plan calls for work on the first 180-day well to start in March 2016, which is about 10 months later than the plan approved for previous operator Eni.

The plan proposes six other wells to be drilled at the rate of one a year through 2022. The target is API 38-degree oil.

The site is in 1,605 m of water, about 390 km southwest of New Orleans. Partners are Cobalt 47%, Samson 26% and Total 27%.

Shell has disclosed new details about its August 2014 Kaikias (31/23) discovery in the Mars-Ursa basin in the Gulf of Mexico. Appraisal has revealed more than 90 m of net oil pay and Shell estimates recoverable oil could exceed 100 MMbbl.

Kaikias is a small find, but its proximity to existing infrastructure makes it more economical to produce. Shell already has saved money on the project as drilling and appraisal was completed ahead of schedule and cost 20% less than budgeted.

That in itself is remarkable given Kaikias is the longest well Shell ever has drilled at measured depth of 10,515 m.

The site is in Mississippi Canyon block 812 in 1,364 m of water about 225 km south-southeast of New Orleans.

Shell already has plans to drill four more 150-day exploratory wells in MC 811 and 812 through 2018.

Regulators gave Noble the okay for a six-year plan to explore the Silvergate prospect in Mississippi Canyon blocks 338, 294 and 339. The site is in 1,470 m water depth, about 211 km southeast of New Orleans. Oil targeted is API 30.7 degrees.

The 113-day wells were due to start in October and continue through 2022 at the rate of one a year.

In its application, Noble says it plans to test the upper and middle Miocene trends by drilling the first well to 5,789m total depth. Noble and BP are 50-50 partners in the project.

Stone has won conditional approval of its exploration plan for the Lamprey prospect in Alaminos Canyon block 943. The site is just southwest of Shell’s Perdido (32/16) Hub, in 2,360 m about 650 km southwest of New Orleans.

The project, slated for spring 2016, is described as a 77-day undertaking, including mobilising the rig, drilling and evaluating the well and plugging and abandoning or suspending the well. The target: API 39-degree oil. Stone is sole owner.

Regulators are still studying ConocoPhillips’ long term plan to explore the Bearkat prospect in Viosca Knoll block 952, in 730m about 200km southeast of New Orleans.

In any case, it is doubtful COP will carry it out, given the company’s recent announcement it will depart deepwater by 2017.

When filed, the plan sought permission for drilling, completion and installation of wellheads on six wells. Work on the 80- to 84-day wells would start in January 2017 and end in February 2020. The goal was API 36-degree oil. Stone is one-third partner.

Lundin Petroleum has spun the bit in its 6407/10-4 exploration well on the Lorry prospect offshore Norway.

Well 6407/10-4 is located on the northern part of the Frøya High in the Norwegian Sea about 17 km northeast of VNG Norge operated Pil (32/12) and Bue discoveries in the Halten Terrace.

The Lorry prospect is estimated to contain gross unrisked prospective resources of 151 MMboe.

From Houston (BN): Colombia’s energy ministry has taken steps to promote foreign investment in Caribbean deepwater and ultradeepwater exploration.

Measures include allowing companies free-trade zone status for offshore projects along with a 22% cut in income taxes, exemption from value-added taxes and customs benefits.

Minister Tomas Gonzalez Estrada cited gas discoveries by Petrobras at Orca-1 and Anadarko at Kronos-1 for his optimism about offshore opportunities. Colombia currently produces about 1 MMboe/d.

Polarcus said that the Capreolus 3-D multiclient project, the largest single 3-D seismic survey ever acquired offshore Australia was recently completed ahead of schedule after a successful 11-month campaign.

The basinwide broadband 3-D seismic survey covers two underexplored hydrocarbon provinces with largely untested oil plays in the Beagle sub-basin and the Bedout sub-basin, including the recent Phoenix South oil discovery.

The discovery well opens up the potential for a new oil province across an area historically only considered prospective for gas, with the oils derived from a Lower Triassic source interval clearly imaged on the new seismic.

Several leads and prospects have been identified for multiphase drilling programs to be undertaken over the next two years.

Offshore