Some time ago it seemed like the subsea compression scheme for Shell’s ORMEN LANGE (SEN, 31/17) had gone dormant. An onshore compression station had moved to the top of the list as scheme with subsea pushed out to at least 2020. That would be a long wait.

So SEN was surprised to hear that it was back on the agenda, although exactly what this means remains unclear as no one at Shell in Norway is speaking.

From the North Sea (NT): RWE Dea’s hopes of confirming fresh reserves at the CROSGANA potential subsea tieback to the Breagh (31/3) facilities in the UK southern basin, appear to have been stymied by appraisal drilling.

Well 42/15a-3, drilled by jackup Ensco 70, found the target Whitby formation much deeper and with thinner sands than expected, the company tells SEN. It has now been plugged and abandoned.

From Houston (BN): The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has more than quadrupled its estimate of oil and gas that could be recovered from Alaska’s CHUKCHI SEA tracts leased in Sale 193 in 2008.

The final environmental impact statement (FEIS) comes in response to a court order arising from a lawsuit filed by Alaskan native and environmental advocacy groups. The new estimate - 4.3bnbbls of oil and 34bcm of gas - is more than four times the original 1bnbbl estimate that plaintiffs argued under-estimated environmental impacts and that federal courts found ‘arbitrary and capricious’ and ordered revisited.

The new FEIS was to be published in the Federal Register followed by a 30-day public comment period. After that, BOEM will decide whether to lift a suspension of all licenses issued and affirm Sale 193.

If the sale and leases are affirmed, BOEM and the Bureau of Safety & Environmental Enforcement would still need to review specific exploration plans and drilling permits before any work could begin.

The industry is still awaiting BSEE’s proposed new Arctic drilling rules. Waiting in the wings is Shell, which has said it wants to return to the Arctic this year.

Environmental advocates blasted the new feis. They have expressed concern about Shell’s plans in the wake of the company’s disastrous 2012 effort.

From Australia (RW): Chevron’s $54bn GREATER GORGON (31/13) subsea gas-to-LNG project on Barrow Island, off Western Australia, is 90% complete.

The company says that both LNG storage tanks are ready to receive product, while three of the four condensate storage tanks have also been completed. The loading jetty is virtually complete and requires only the installation of the loading arm.

The domestic gas pipeline from Barrow Island to the mainland is now connected to the gas plant site and pre-commissioning activities have been completed.

All subsea pipelines, wellheads and associated facilities at the Gorgon and Jansz-Io fields have been completed. All 18 development wells have been drilled and completed and pre-commissioning work for the subsea facilities is underway at both fields.

All modules for Train 1 at the LNG plant are on their foundations along with 13 of the 17 modules for Train 2. The project is expected to be brought onstream in mid-2015.

From the North Sea (NT): Allseas has succumbed to pressure from critics for using the name Pieter Schelte (31/22) for its newbuild single-lift vessel and has renamed it PIONEERING SPIRIT. ‘It has never been the intention to offend anybody,’ the company says. ‘The name of the vessel reflects what she stands for: a new technological step in platform installation and decommissioning.’

The original name drew widespread protests as Pieter Schelte, Allseas president Edward Heerema’s father, was a member of the Waffen-SS during the Second World War.

Pioneering Spirit has been contracted to remove three Brent topsides, starting with Delta, but according to the draft decommissioning programme for Delta just issued by Shell, this is now scheduled for 2016 rather than this year.

Delek has updated the resources estimated at the TAMAR (31/9) deepwater gas complex, offshore Israel. Proven plus probable reserves are now put at 300bcm and 13.7mmbbls of condensate. Including possible reserves the numbers are 348bcm and 16mmbbls...CNOOC has put reserves at its LINSHUI 17-2 deepwater gas field at 100bcm...APACHE ENERGY has reported that its fourth quarter 2014 North Sea production came in at just over 80,000boe/d, up 7% from the previous year and its highest ever quarterly production in the sector.

4Subsea and DNV GL have picked up contracts for Wintershall Norge’s upcoming MARIA (31/19) subsea tieback project.

4S is to supply subsea engineering services under a new frame agreement which covers advise on wellheads, xmas trees and well intervention. The Norwegian engineering company which is better known for its riser work also has a cooperation agreement with controls specialist Head Energy Multicontrol.

The DNV work gives it the combined role of independent verification body and third party design verification activity for the various parts of the subsea systems including hardware and SURF elements.

BG has inked a six-year global upstream engineering alliance with KBR covering pre-FEED, FEED and project management.

From Australia (RW): MEO Australia and Eni have decided to split their Timor Sea permit between them.

MEO will withdraw from the BLACKWOOD (29/22) gas discovery in the permit with no cost penalty by transferring its interest to Eni.

MEO now believes reserves are not large enough to support development at its proposed TASSIE SHOAL (29/17) LNG-methanol plant in shallow water off the Northern Territory coast.

ENI will transfer its 50% interest in the remainder of the permit to MEO. The Italian major has agreed to take responsibility for managing the future division of the permit to enable separate ownership of Blackwood and the nearby Heron gas find in the same permit. It will also bear the costs of the process.

MEO will now take 100% of Heron and focus its efforts in that field. The company is also seeking interest from various parties for a farm-in to the Tassie Shoal project.

From the North Sea (NT): It’s medals all round for the foreign partners and contractors who helped drill the UNIVERSITETSKAYA-1 (31/14) discovery find for Rosneft in the Kara Sea last year.

Among those to be decorated with Russia’s Order of Friendship are Seadrill chairman John Fredriksen, whose North Atlantic Drilling subsidiary supplied the West Alpha rig and his right-hand man Tor Olav Trøim (or former pal as the two are reported to have had a serious falling out), although they were, of course, never anywhere near the Kara Sea.

The more hands-on folk from contractors Halliburton and Schlumberger and partner ExxonMobil have also received the distinction, according to Russian press sources. With reserves of 965mmbbl and 392bcm of gas, the discovery, now named Pobeda, was the world’s largest in 2014.

From Australia (RW): Karoon Gas Australia’s KANGAROO-2 (31/20) appraisal well in the Santos Basin offshore Brazil has confirmed a 250m gross oil column in Paleocene and Maastrichtian reservoirs.

The company has completed a successful multi-formation production test programme in the Kangaroo-2 vertical well and in down-dip and up-dip side track wells. The initial discovery was made in November 2014.

Well data indicates a number of separate accumulations and there is no significant gas cap. Tests indicate commercial flow rates are achievable from the field. Karoon intends to move to a separate structure in the same play type at Kangaroo West this month.

Karoon operates (65%) for Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp (35%).

From Australia (RW): Tap Oil has become the second potential partner to withdraw from WHL Energy’s offshore Otway Basin permit.

Tap this week has declined the option of a 10% interest in the permit which contains the LA BELLA (31/20) gas discovery and a number of other leads and prospects. AWE also withdrew from the permit in December last year.

Tap was to acquire the interest by paying up to $A3.85mn of the year two seismic costs in the block. The company has since decided to focus on its Manora (31/8) oil development, offshore Thailand.

WHL now reverts to 100% interest in Vic/P67 and is still keen to attract a farm-in to join a development of the gas resources.

Providence Resources has snapped up Chrysaor E&P Ireland in a move which boosts its shareholding in the SPANISH POINT prospect in FEL 2/04, offshore Eire, to 58%.

Providence now also holds 58% in FEL 4/08 and 43% in FEL 1/14. The licences, all located within Quadrant 35 in the northern Porcupine Basin, west of Eire, are operated by Cairn Energy (38%).

An appraisal well on Spanish Point is planned to be drilled later this summer.

Providence has also reached agreement to farm out a portion of its Barryroe asset, also offshore Ireland to an un-named company.

Sterling Energy has been given the nod by the government of MADAGASCAR to extend the offshore Ampasindava and Ambilobe PSCs to July 2016.

Sterling and partner Pura Vida are continuing with planning of the 3D seismic programme on Ambilobe, which due to begin next month.

Offshore