South America

Repsol Sinopec strikes Campos oil

Repsol Sinopec and partners Statoil and Petrobras have made an ultra-deepwater oil discovery in the presalt Campos basin. The 1-REPF-11A-RJS well, 190 km (118 miles) off the coast of Rio de Janiero, encountered good quality oil, the Spanish-Chinese operator said. The exploratory well, informally know as G?vea, was drilled by Stena Drilling's Stena Drillmax I drillship in 2,708 m (8,885 ft) water depth and reached a final depth of 6,851 m (22,477 ft). The find is the most significant made in the presalt area of the Campos basin, according to Repsol Sinopec, although no reserve estimates were revealed at press time.

Statoil success with Peregrino sidetracks

As part of the first phase of development, Norway's Statoil has completed both sidetracks at its Peregrino South well immediately adjacent to the newly opened Peregrino field –the company's largest heavy oil field and largest operated international field – offshore Brazil. The wells were drilled by the Fred. Olsen semisubmersible rig Blackford Dolphin. Estimates for recoverable volumes in Peregrino South are pegged between 150 and 300 MMboe.

Workers on the Peregrino A platform’s drillfloor. (Photo courtesy of ?yvind Hagen/Statoil ASA)

OGX's Waikiki a winner

Brazilian operator OGX has concluded the drilling of horizontal well OGX-9-44HP-RJS targeting the Waikiki accumulation. A drill stem test has identified "excellent production conditions" and potential of 40,000 b/d of oil with an oil gravity of approximately 23° API. The well is in Block BM-C-39 in the Campos basin and is expected to be part of OGX's second production project in the basin. A complex process of selective acidification was used in eight well intervals, permitting better stimulation of the 1,063-m (3,488-ft) horizontal well extension and maximizing oil flow, OGX said.

Falklands find achieves commercial flow rates

Rockhopper Exploration's latest appraisal offshore the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic has flowed at commercially viable rates. The 14/10-05 well (Sea Lion discovery) flowed at a stabilized rate of 5,508 b/d, achieving a maximum flow rate of 9,036 b/d during testing. The PL033 area's water depth approaches 550 m (1,804 ft), meaning the operator could opt for either fixed or floating production platform development options. Diamond Offshore's Ocean Guardian semisubmersible rig will move on to drill well 14/10-6, the third appraisal probe in the harsh-environment North Falkland basin.

Africa

Mozambique appraisal under way

Anadarko has initiated appraisal drilling using the Fred. Olsen Belford Dolphin drillship on the deepwater Barquentine gas discovery in the Rovuma block offshore Mozambique, according to partner Cove Energy. The rig will drill the Barquentine-2 well approximately 4 km (2.5 miles) southeast of the discovery well, followed by the Barquentine-3. The initial appraisal program including flow testing and core analysis will focus on proving sufficient resources in the Oligocene gas reservoirs of the Windjammer/Barquentine discovery area to lay the foundations for a first LNG train. Acquisition of 3-D seismic over some 4,448 sq km (1,717 sq mile) of the Rovuma block is now complete. Final results are expected in 4Q 2011.

The Kora-1 prospect is the first well to be drilled in the deepwater AGC area. (Image courtesy of Ophir Energy plc)

Senegal-Guinea Bissau wildcat spudded

UK-based Ophir Energy has started drilling the Kora-1 wildcat deepwater well in the AGC Profond PSC administered by the Agence Gestion de Co-operation between Senegal and Guinea Bissau, the joint commission set up by the Senegal and Guinea-Bissau governments to administer the maritime zone between the two jurisdictions. The Kora prospect is approximately 280 km (174 miles) south-southwest of Dakar in 2,700 m (8,858 ft) water depth.

TGS swims with Dolphin off NW Africa

TGS and Dolphin Geophysical plan to jointly acquire, process, and market multiclient 2-D seismic data along Northwest Africa. The survey will total 25,000 km (15,534 miles) of long-offset seismic data. At press time, approximately 10,000 km (6,214 miles) of data had been acquired along the Northwest African Passive Margin using the M/V Artemis Atlantic seismic vessel. The data will be available in late 2011. According to TGS, the full program is expected to be completed in 2012.

Cobalt to kick off Angolan wells

In late June, Houston-based Cobalt Energy was notified that Diamond Offshore's Ocean Confidence drilling rig previously under assignment to Total offshore Angola would be returned to Cobalt for its planned Block 21 drilling activities. Cobalt's drilling program calls for two presalt deepwater exploration wells – the Bicuar-1 and Cameia-1. Additionally, the company expects to execute the production-sharing agreement for its 40% working interest and operatorship of Block 20 offshore Angola in early 3Q 2011.

Europe

New FPSO to anchor in West of Shetlands

Operator BP and partners Shell, Hess, Murphy Petroleum, Statoil, and OMV plan to upgrade production and subsea facilities at the Schiehallion and Loyal oil fields in the West of Shetlands with a £3 billion (~US $4.8 billion) reinvestment. In a project known as Quad 204, the joint venture will replace the area's existing floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel with a new FPSO vessel in 2015. The 270-m (886-ft) long and 52-m (171-ft) wide vessel will be able to process and transport up to 130,000 b/d of oil and store more than 1 MMbbl. The subsea facilities also will be upgraded and replaced for 2016 production.

Norwegian Sea prospect bears oil and condensate

Statoil and partners Det Norske and Svenska have proven oil and condensate in the Norwegian North Sea's Krafla West prospect, 26 km (16 miles) southwest of the Oseberg South field. The discovery well found hydrocarbons in two columns with a total thickness of 300 m (984 ft). Preliminary calculations indicate the find could contain 12.6 to 37.7 MMboe. Through the discoveries of Krafla and Krafla West – both drilled by Diamond Offshore's Ocean Vanguard – Statoil said it has proven reserves of 50 to 75 MMboe. The Krafla discoveries were the first wells drilled in the license and may be tied back to the Oseberg area's existing infrastructure.

TGS adds Adriatic Sea data

Spectrum has reprocessed approximately 9,000 km (5,592 miles) of regional 2-D seismic data from the Italian sector of the Adriatic Sea on a multiclient basis. The original surveys were acquired by the Italian government as part of a study to highlight the Adriatic Sea's hydrocarbon potential. The majority of production in the region is from Pliocene-age gas fields, many of which have multi-Tcf reserves. Deeper potential from the area has yet to be fully explored. A number of undrilled structures have been identified by the reprocessed data, according to TGS.

Middle East

CNPC nears Iraq Phase 1 project completion

CNPC has completed construction of the first phase of the Al-Ahdab oil field in Iraq, on which it began work in 2009 after renegotiating its previous development deal. The Asian NOC said it hopes to pump 110,000-130,000 b/d of oil from the field, which holds estimated reserves of 1 Bbbl. Completion of the first phase, with a capacity of 60,000 b/d, is ahead of schedule, according to CNPC. The field is the first new oil capacity building project in Iraq in 20 years.

Central Asia

Reliance finds gas off India's east coast

Indian energy conglomerate Reliance Industries has discovered gas at its operated exploration well KG-D9-A2 within the deepwater D9 license off India's east coast, according to UK-based partner Hardy Oil and Gas. The Dhirubhai-54 discovery well was drilled to a total depth of 4,881 m (~16,000 ft) with the objective of exploring the play fairway in the early and late Miocene Channel Levee Complex in 2,700 m (8,860 ft) water depth. Three sand reservoirs with a gross thickness of 22 m (72 ft) were encountered and evaluated by wire-line MDT. The D9 license in the Krishna Godavari basin offshore India covers approximately 8,695 sq km (3,357 sq miles).

Pacific Rim

Coastal hits Bua Ban pay dirt offshore Thailand

Coastal Energy has hit additional oil pay on the Bua Ban North B field offshore Thailand. The Bua Ban North B-08 well was drilled to 1,800 m (5,900 ft) TVD and encountered 28 m (92 ft) of net pay. The well, an appraisal of the B-03 discovery well on the easternmost fault block of the field, further confirms the Miocene trend in the Songkhla basin. The B-07 water injection well also was drilled to establish the oil/water contact in the field at 1,166 m (3,824 ft). According to Coastal, a mobile offshore production unit will be installed on the Bua Ban North B field once the drilling rig is off location.

String of oil discoveries prove up Parsons

Beach Energy has encountered a 6-m (20-ft) oil column at the Parsons-5 development well in the Cooper Basin Western Flank onshore Australia. This is Beach's fifth success in its PEL 92 drilling program, which includes an additional two undrilled wells. The Parsons-5, which found oil in the Namur sandstone reservoir, is expected to be tied in to the Parsons oil facility during the second half of the year. Preliminary work suggests the Parsons well results, in addition to continued strong production performance, will result in a reserve increase of more than 800,000 bbl from the field, Beach said.

North America

Canada-Nova Scotia offers deepwater parcels

The Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board (CNSOPB) has issued Call for Bids NS11-1, consisting of eight deepwater parcels offshore Nova Scotia. The board will only accept bids from companies that have had experience drilling exploration wells in more than 800 m (2,625 ft) water depth during the last 10 years. According to the CNSOPB, the parcels are in a geological region that contains many large undrilled structures that could trap oil or gas. The bid due date is Jan. 10, 2012.

Cobalt lines up GoM wildcat duo

Cobalt Energy expects to begin exploration drilling on its North Platte-1 wildcat in the US Gulf of Mexico (GoM) later this year. The company formally submitted the North Platte-1 application to drill (APD) in June and, at press time, was awaiting a Coast Guard Certificate of Compliance for the ENSCO 8503 drilling rig, which is expected to be obtained after the rig is inspected following its return from French Guiana in 3Q 2011. Cobalt also resubmitted the Ligurian-2 APD June 9. If the BORMRE approves the Ligurian-2 APD prior to the ENSCO 8503's return and spud of the North Platte-1, Cobalt will first drill the Ligurian-2.

The ENSCO 8503 ultra-deepwater semisubmersible rig is expected to begin drilling for Cobalt in the GoM in late 2011. (Image courtesy of Ensco plc)