South America

Desire spuds fresh Falklands probe

Desire Petroleum’s latest wildcat well in the frontier North Falkland Basin is under way. Well 14/15-3 on the Ninky prospect in Tranche D is being drilled by the Ocean Guardian rig in 2,150 ft (655 m) water depth offshore the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. The well has a planned total depth of approximately 8,596 ft (2,620 m).

Guar? Norte test flows 6,000 b/d

Petrobras has completed a formation test in the first extension well on the Guar? field in the presalt Santos Basin in 6,949 ft (2,118 m) water depth, approximately 190 miles (305 km) off the coast of S?o Paulo State, confirming the ultra-deepwater accumulation’s high productivity estimates. Well 3-SPS-69 (3-BRSA-788 or Guar? Norte) in Block BM-S-9 flowed approximately 6,000 b/d of good-quality light oil (30? API). Initial production potential is approximately 50,000 b/d of oil.

Guar? Norte offshore Brazil flowed approximately 6,000 b/d of good-quality light oil. (Image courtesy of Petrobras)

Peregrino flows for Statoil offshore Brazil

Statoil has started producing oil from its Peregrino field 53 miles (85 km) offshore Brazil in the Campos Basin in approximately 328 ft (100 m) water depth in licenses BMC-7 and BMC-47. Production will gradually ramp up to a plateau of 100,000 boe/d. The field contains 300 to 600 MMboe recoverable. An exploration well currently is being drilled at Peregrino South.

Pacific Rim

AED hits Brunei gas

A subsidiary of Australia’s AED Oil Ltd. has completed well testing operations on its Lempuyang-1 probe onshore Brunei. The well intersected excellent-quality reservoir sands, with gas flowing to surface from two test intervals. Some thin gas sands were interpreted at the lower reservoir test interval between 10,095 and 10,276 ft (3,077 and 3,132 m) measured depth (MD), of which 79 ft (24 m) were perforated. The upper reservoir test interval between 9,347 and 9,409 ft (2,849 and 2,868 m) MD, of which 59 ft (18 m) were perforated, flowed gas to surface before the operator was forced to cease testing due to a downhole mechanical failure. As a result, no gas flow rates could be established.

Thailand test hits oil

Coastal Energy has drilled the Bua Ban North A-04 well in the Gulf of Thailand to a total vertical depth of 6,417 ft (1,956 m). The well encountered 22 ft (7 m) of net pay in the Miocene with average porosity of 29%. The company estimates the reservoir contains approximately 6 MMbbl of oil in place. The well also encountered 11 ft (3.4 m) of net sand with shows in a deeper Miocene section with 22% average porosity and 10 ft (3 m) of net sand with shows in the Upper Oligocene with 25% porosity.

Europe

Eni hits hydrocarbons in Barents Sea

Italy’s Eni has made a hydrocarbon discovery in the Norwegian Barents Sea, approximately 93 miles (150 km) northwest of the Goliat oil field. The Skrugard discovery was made via the 7220/8-1 exploration well, the first drilled in the PL 532 license, in 1,224 ft (373 m) water depth. The well proved columns of 108 ft (33 m) of gas and 295 ft (90 m) of oil. Proven recoverable resources are preliminarily estimated at between 150 and 250 MMboe.

SeaBird flies early on Rosebank

SeaBird Exploration PLC has been granted the option to start the second stage of the Ocean Bottom Node survey at the deepwater Rosebank field offshore the UK with the Hugin Explorer as node vessel and Munin Explorer as source vessel earlier than the initially agreed start date.

Africa

The Teak-2 well discovered 89 ft of net hydrocarbon-bearing Campanian and Turonian reservoirs offshore Ghana. (Image courtesy of Anadarko Petroleum Corp.)

Teak-2 success offshore Ghana

Kosmos Energy’s Teak-2 well has hit fresh reserves in the Jubilee development offshore Ghana in the West Cape Three Points license. The Atwood Hunter drilled the well to a total depth of 11,184 ft (3,409 m) in 2,904 ft (885 m) water depth. Teak-2 discovered 89 ft (27 m) of net hydrocarbon-bearing Campanian and Turonian reservoirs. It intersected five intervals containing high-quality oil, gas, and gas condensate, and an additional 20 ft (6 m) of net oil and gas pay were encountered at the top of good-quality Campanian reservoirs, more than 328 ft (100 m) thick.

Fresh find offshore Tanzania

Ophir Energy and partner BG Group have confirmed a Tanzanian gas discovery offshore Africa’s east coast with the Chaza-1 well, in Block 1 approximately 11 miles (18 km) offshore southern Tanzania in 3,117 ft (950 m) water depth. The Deepsea Stavanger drilled the well to a total depth of 16,060 ft (4,895 m).

Middle East

Noble suspends Israel well

Noble Energy Inc. has suspended drilling operations on its Leviathan-1 well offshore Israel. Wear on the wellbore casing, will require additional material and equipment to complete the well. The company is preparing to move the Sedco Express rig to the nearby deepwater Tamar field, where development drilling will get under way.

Central Asia

Rosneft adds to NAD exploration

Russia’s Rosneft will drill three wildcat wells and one further appraisal well in a new license to explore the Naulsk oil field area in the Russian Nenets Autonomous District (NAD). Severnaya Neft, a Rosneft subsidiary, will be the operator of the sub-Arctic project. Naulsk’s oil reserves, classified as C1 and C2, are estimated at 51.3 million metric tons. Production is expected to reach a maximum volume of one million tons per year.

North America

Oklahoma horizontal flows

Hadaway Engineering Inc. has completed a horizontal exploratory test in well #1-30H Dude in Section 30-3n-22ecm in Beaver County, Okla. The well was tested in an openhole lateral at 6,255 to 10,370 ft (1,897 to 3,161 m) and flowed 203 b/d of 44-gravity oil with 170 Mcf/d of gas and 980 b/d of water following fracture stimulation.

Carthage field Haynesville well completed

Sun River Energy Inc. has completed the Neal Heirs # 1 well (API # 42-365-37706) in the Carthage field in Panola County, Texas. The well was drilled vertically to a total depth of 11,057 ft (3,370 m) and is flowing 2,256 Mcf/d with a flowing tubing pressure of 3,320 psi.

Gulf of Mexico

Clayton Williams plans shallow-water well

Clayton Williams Energy Inc.’s #1 State Lease 19924 well in Eugene Island Block 16 is scheduled to be directionally drilled to 15,225 ft (4,641 m). The shallow-water venture is planned from a surface location in the northwestern portion of irregular Block 16 offshore St. Mary Parish, La.

Walter to drill wildcat well

Walter Oil & Gas Corp. is planning to drill wildcat well OCS G33103 in Ship Shoal Block 316 offshore Louisiana. Plans submitted to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement indicate the well will be drilled on the northwestern portion of the tract in 277 ft (84 m) water depth.