AFRICA

Tullow’s Agete-1 well hits oil onshore Kenya

Tullow Oil Plc announced in a press release that the Agete-1 exploration well in Block 13T onshore northern Kenya has discovered and sampled moveable oil with an estimated 100 m (328 ft) of net oil pay in good-quality sandstone reservoirs. The Agete-1 wildcat well is part of a major exploration campaign and has made the fifth consecutive oil discovery in the first of a chain of multiple rift basins across Tullow’s acreage in the region. This discovery derisks several follow-on prospects located to the north and is on trend with the Twiga South, Ekales, and Ngamia oil discoveries, Tullow said. Tullow operates the Agete-1 well with a 50% interest, and Africa Oil (50%) has the remaining interest.

Horizon reports gas flow during Ketu-2 testing

Horizon Oil Ltd. announced in a press release that it has recorded strong gas/condensate flows during production testing of the Ketu-2 appraisal well in PRL 21, Papua New Guinea. The flow test confirmed the high deliverability of the Elevala sandstone reservoir and that the condensate/ gas ratio is consistent with that of the nearby Elevala and Tingu accumulations. Participants in the PRL 21 joint venture include operator Horizon Oil (Papua) Ltd., a subsidiary of Horizon Oil Ltd., with a 45% interest; Talisman Energy Niugini Ltd., a subsidiary of Talisman Energy Inc., with 32.5%; Kina Petroleum Ltd. with 15%; and Diamond Gas Niugini BV, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corp., with 7.5%.

ASIA-PACIFIC

Senex makes oil find at Worrior field

Senex Energy Ltd., as operator of southern Cooper Basin permit PPL 207 (Senex 70%, Cooper Energy Ltd. 30%), has discovered a new oil accumulation in the Patchawarra formation at Worrior oil field, Senex said in a news release. The Worrior-8 development well was drilled in June 2013 to a total depth of 1,778 m (5,833 ft) and intersected a net pay originally interpreted as up to 18 m (59 ft) across the McKinlay member, Namur sandstone, and the Patchawarra formation. The production test has achieved the primary objective, flowing gas from the Patchawarra formation at a rate of 20 Mcm/d (0.7 MMscf/d). Additionally, the well flowed oil at a stabilized rate of 670 b/d, the release said.

Fugro adds vessel for Asia-Pacific region

Fugro Voyager, a purpose-built DP2 geotechnical drilling vessel, is entering service with Fugro’s offshore geotechnical division to expand its operations in the frontier areas of the Asia-Pacific region, according to a news release. The vessel was specifically designed and built to address the varied demands of the region’s deepwater markets. At 83 m by 20 m (272 ft by 66 ft), with a twin tower drilling derrick over a centrally located moon pool, the vessel has automated pipe and tool handling equipment to promote safe drilling floor operations. A large soil laboratory is centrally located next to the drill floor giving a unique open-plan working environment for the geotechnicians.

CENTRAL ASIA

Azerbaijan 10-month oil output grows

Azeri oil production from January 2013 through October 2013 rose for the first time in three years as a BP-led group stabilized output at the nation’s largest deposit. The Caspian Sea nation pumped 36.1 million metric tons (258 MMbbl) of oil in the first 10 months of 2013, up 0.2%, the State Statistics Committee in the capital of Baku said on its website. It fell 7.5% in the period in 2012 and 9% before that. Marketable natural gas output also grew, by 1.9% to 14.6 Bcm (515 Bcf), the Statistics Committee said Nov. 14, 2013.

MIDDLE EAST

Kentz wins Dukhan contract from QP

Kentz Corp. Ltd., the holding company of the Kentz engineering and construction group, announced in a press release an award by Qatar Petroleum (QP) for the engineering, procurement, installation, and commissioning for wellhead industrial control systems, alongside corrosion protection, for approximately 775 wells across the Dukhan oil field in Qatar. The contract, valued at US $190 million, builds on Kentz’s previous working relationship with QP and will be executed by the engineering, procurement, and construction business unit, running for three years until 2016.

NORTH AMERICA

ConocoPhillips adds rig to Kuparuk field

ConocoPhillips Alaska has signed a contract to bring an additional drilling rig to the Kuparuk River field on Alaska’s North Slope, the company said in a news release. This is the second rig that will be added to Kuparuk’s rig fleet since spring 2013 when state SB21, the More Alaska Production Act, was passed by the legislature. Nabors 9ES will begin drilling at Kuparuk this month. It joins Nabors 7ES, which has added production of 1,600 b/d since it began working in late May 2013. After the passage of SB21, the company also announced plans to pursue two new projects on the North Slope.

GULF OF MEXICO

PGS will conduct new GoM survey

Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS) will offer the Triton GeoStreamer full-azimuth survey, a new solution to complex imaging problems in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GoM), according to a company press release. This survey will cover approximately 350 OCS blocks totaling 8,100 sq km (3,127 sq miles) in the Garden Banks and Keathley Canyon areas of the GoM. Within the limits of this survey are BP’s subsalt Tiber discovery in Keathley Canyon 102 and several significant wildcat wells, including BP’s Gila well in Keathley Canyon 93 and Chevron’s Oceanographer well in Garden Banks 973, according to the release. The new survey will image the extent of the Wilcox play to the north of Tiber and to the west of Cobalt’s North Platte discovery in Garden Banks 959.

Siem charters subsea vessel for Harkand in GoM

Harkand has entered into a charter agreement with Siem Offshore for the offshore subsea construction vessel Siem Spearfish, Harkand said in a press release. The agreement covers a firm period of five years with three yearly options and will begin in May 2014. The vessel will support the development of the Harkand group in the provision of inspection, repair, and maintenance services in the deepwater GoM. The Class 2 dynamic positioning vessel, built by Vard in Norway, has a 250-ton crane and will be fitted with two Triton XLX ROVs as well as a complete survey spread.

SOUTH AMERICA

Petrobras hits oil column, will test Iara presalt probe

Petrobras will carry out a formation test on its ultra-deep-water Iara presalt discovery in the Santos basin offshore Brazil after hitting a 310-m (1,017-ft) hydrocarbon column. The company said in a press release that it had completed the drilling of the fifth exploration well in Block BM-S-11, which contains Iara. Well 3-RJS-715D (3-BRSA-1181D-RJS), informally known as Iara Alto ?ngulo (Iara High Angle), is located 225 km (140 miles) off the coast of Rio de Janeiro in a water depth of 2,128 m (6,982 ft).

Colombia targets Pacific coast oil exports

Colombia is planning to build a new pipeline to export oil via its Pacific coast to Asia, as increased production from US shale fields forces South America’s third-largest crude producer to seek new markets. China and India represent important growth markets, with Colombia planning to connect its Cano Limon pipeline with Venezuela’s Guafita in the short term and build a separate pipeline to the Pacific coast in the medium to long term, Amylkar Acosta, Colombia’s mines and energy minister, said. The route of the new pipeline is being studied.

EUROPE

Statoil, partners will extend Statfjord production

Statoil, Centrica, and ExxonMobil have decided to extend production from the Statfjord A platform in the North Sea until 2020, Statoil said in a press release. The company noted that the platform actually should have been shut down several years ago. Originally, the partnership hoped to recover 40% of the oil in the Statfjord field. The outcome so far is a record 66%, according to the release. The global average for oil fields is 35%. The goal is to recover 74% of the gas from Statfjord. Statfjord has gone from its original status as an oil field to the present, where mainly gas is produced.

Italy plans to sell 3% of Eni to reduce debt

Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta plans to sell 3% of Eni SpA as part of a program to raise as much as US $16 billion by disposing of state assets to reduce Europe’s second-biggest public debt. Italy’s 30% stake in the oil company, which is split between the Treasury and state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, won’t fall below that level because of an Eni buyback that will reduce the shares outstanding, Letta said at a press conference. Italy also plans to sell stakes in STMicroelectronics NV, Grandi Stazioni SpA, Fincantieri Cantieri Navali Italiani SpA, and Sace SpA.