SOUTH AMERICA

EWT under way on Iracema

An Extended Well Test (EWT) is under way in the pre-salt Iracema area of the Santos basin offshore Brazil using the FPSO BW Cidade de S?o Vicente. The floater is in Block BM-S-11, with the unit connected to well RJS-647 in 2,212 m (7,258 ft) water depth. The facility is gathering technical data on the behavior of the reservoirs and oil flow along with other data, which will support development of the final production system expected to start operations at the end of 2014 via the installation of the 150,000 b/d FPSO Cidade de Mangaratiba. During the EWT, the well is expected to produce at a restricted flow of approximately 10,000 b/d of oil.

Repsol’s sweet find in Campos basin

Repsol Sinopec and its partners have made a high-impact ultra-deepwater discovery on the P?o de A??car prospect in the Campos basin offshore Brazil. Partner Statoil said the discovery well encountered two presalt accumulations comprising a hydrocarbon column of 480 m (1,575 ft) with a total pay of around 350 m (1,148 ft). A drill stem test performed in a partial section of the pay zone flowed 5,000 b/d of light oil and 28.5 MMcf/d of gas.

Trinidad & Tobago deep round

Trinidad and Tobago’s latest deepwater licensing round was due to open March 29. The 2012 Deep Water Competitive Bid Round has a closing date of July 30, according to the Ministry of Energy and Energy Affairs (MEEA). Road shows were held in Houston and London, where six selected deepwater blocks were unveiled. The six blocks offered are in the East Coast Marine area and Trinidad and Tobago Deep Atlantic area. PGS, in conjunction with the MEEA, has acquired 6,766 km (4,204 miles) of marine multiclient 2-D data over approximately 43,000 sq km (16,602 sq miles) of the offshore area.

AFRICA

Chariot to get rolling with Namibian wildcat

Chariot Oil & Gas will kick off its exploration program offshore Namibia after signing a rig contract for the first deepwater well, Tapir South. The Maersk Deliverer semisubmersible rig was due to arrive at the planned well location by the end of March, with the wildcat forecast to take up to two months to drill. The Tapir South prospect, which is estimated to contain around 604 MMbbl of oil, will be drilled in approximately 2,108 m (6,916 ft) water depth to 5,100 m (16,733 ft) TD.

Statoil joins Tanzanian party

Statoil has joined the growing ranks of operators lining up potential major gas developments offshore East Africa after confirming success with its first ultra-deepwater well offshore Tanzania. The company encountered 120 m (394 ft) of excellent quality reservoir with high porosity and high permeability in the Zafarani exploration well in Block 2, with logging results proving up to 5 Tcf of gas in place. The find was made in 2,582 m (8,472 ft) water depth, with the well to be drilled to a planned TD of approximately 5,100 m (16,733 ft).

NORTH AMERICA

ATP’s Morgus field flows oil

ATP Oil & Gas has announced initial production rates from its Mississippi Canyon Block 942 A-3 (#2) well in excess of 7,000 boe/d, of which 85% is oil. The well, located on the Morgus field in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM), encountered 73 m (239 ft) of net pay. This is the fourth well brought on production at the Telemark Hub location via the ATP Titan floating drilling and production platform. ATP operates the hub in approximately 1,219 m (4,000 ft) water depth.

Cascade FPSO onstream

Production is flowing from the deepwater Cascade/ Chinook field through the BW Pioneer FPSO vessel in the GoM via the Cascade-4 well, which is approximately 250 km (155 miles) offshore in 2,500 m (8,202 ft) water depth. The production well was drilled and completed in Lower Tertiary reservoirs. The BW Pioneer is the first FPSO to produce oil and gas in the GoM and has the capacity to process 80,000 bbl of oil and 500 MMcm/d of gas.

Caesar/Tonga begins producing in deepwater Gulf

Anadarko Petroleum has started production at the Caesar/Tonga development in the Green Canyon area of the deepwater GoM from the Constitution spar in 1,524 m (5,000 ft) water depth. Production is expected to ramp up to 45,000 boe/d from the first three subsea wells. CGGVeritas kicks off Tabasco 3-D survey

CGGVeritas has begun acquiring the Tabasco 3-D multi-client survey near the Kuparuk and Alpine oil fields on Alaska’s North Slope. The company is deploying its high-productivity vibroseis acquisition and EmphaSeis broadband vibroseis technologies for the first time on the tundra to acquire the 345-sq-km (133-sq-mile) survey. The first migrated data is scheduled to be delivered in July 2012.

EUROPE

Statoil’s Skrugard success in Barents

Statoil has successfully drilled appraisal well 7220/5-1 on the Skrugard discovery in the Barents Sea offshore Norway. The well was drilled in 388 m (1,273 ft) water depth, reaching a total depth (TD) of 1,740 m (5,709 ft). The well encountered a 25-m (82-ft) gas column and a 48-m (157-ft) oil column in the Middle-Lower Jurassic reservoir, St?, and Nordmela formations. Together with the Havis field, which was discovered at the beginning of 2012 southwest of Skrugard in the PL532 license, recoverable oil reserves in the area are now more than 500 MM bbl.

Irish appraisal success on Barryroe

Providence Resources has confirmed the presence of high-quality light oil within a potentially extensive sandstone system at its Barryroe appraisal well in the North Celtic Sea. The appraisal well 48/24-10z was drilled to 2,301 m (7,550 ft) TD and encountered a primary basal sandstone reservoir interval within the predrill depth prognosis. Indications of hydrocarbons were seen while drilling, and wire-line logging has confirmed the presence of 12 m (41 ft) of net pay in both oil and gas-bearing zones, with the oil gradient being consistent to that of light 40°API crude oil.

Duo hits gas offshore Romania

The OMV Group and ExxonMobil have reportedly encountered approximately 71 m (233 ft) of net gas pay at the Domino-1 well offshore Romania. The well is in the Neptune block in 930 m (3,051 ft) water depth.

MIDDLE EAST

Saudis stepping into Red Sea

Saudi Aramco plans to drill its first deepwater well in the Red Sea by year-end 2012. The company expects to establish up to 100 Bbbl of new oil from its existing fields in the Kingdom over the next several decades via enhanced oil recovery methods as well as discovering additional reserves in unexplored areas such as the Red Sea. The initiative also is expected to increase the company’s natural gas production 40% by 2014. The company also is working on increasing its rate of oil recovery from fields from 50% to 70% in the coming years. Saudi Arabia has 267 Bbbl of proven reserves, about one-fifth of the world’s total.

Total snaps up Yemen block

Total has acquired a 40% operating interest in the Block 3 exploration license onshore Yemen from Oil Search. The license covers an area of 2,954 sq km (1,141 sq miles) in the eastern section of the Marib basin. Total’s partners will be the Austrian OMV, the Czech MND, and state-owned Yemen General Corp. for Oil and Gas (YGC). Once the transaction has been completed, the joint venture will resume exploration with a seismic survey, which may be followed by the drilling of an exploration well.

ASIA/PACIFIC RIM

Natuna prize for Premier

Premier Oil has confirmed its latest test on the Lama formation within the deepwater Anoa field in the Natuna Sea Block A offshore Indonesia was successful. The WL-5 development well was deepened to 3,356 m (11,012 ft) TD to investigate the exploration potential of the Lama formation. The well encountered approximately 91 m (300 ft) of fractured Lama sandstones and was tested and flowed gas at a rate of 17 MMcf/d through a 48/ 64 -in. choke.

South China Sea project gets green light

China’s State Oceanic Administration has approved the environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the Beibu Gulf project, which comprises the development of the WZ 6-12 and WZ 12-8 West oil fields in the South China Sea. First oil production from the Beibu Gulf project is expected by year-end 2012. The ramp-up to full-field peak production is anticipated during 2013, according to project partner Roc Oil (19.6%).