ExxonMobil Signs Deal For Deepwater Oil Exploration Offshore Ghana

ExxonMobil Corp. signed a deal with Ghana on Jan. 18 to explore for oil in the Deepwater Cape Three Point offshore (DWCTP) oil field.

The signing followed direct negotiations between Ghana and ExxonMobil without an open competitive tender due to the nature of the field, where the depth ranges from 2,000 m to 4,000 m (6,562 ft to 13,123 ft), Ghanaian officials said.

Ghana, which exports cocoa and gold, began commercial production of oil from its flagship Jubilee reserves in late 2010. Other firms drilling in the West African country include the U.K.’s Tullow Oil and Kosmos Energy.

The ExxonMobil deal is the first to be signed after the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in September 2017 drew an ocean boundary favoring Ghana in a dispute with its neighbor Ivory Coast. ExxonMobil, lead operator, holds an 80% interest in the DWCTP, while state-run Ghana National Petroleum Corp. holds 15%. ExxonMobil is yet to select a local partner to own the remaining 5% as Ghana’s laws required, Energy Minister Boakye Agyarko told Reuters.

The agreement is subject to approval by parliament, and ExxonMobil is expected to start exploration this year, Agyarko said.

Total, Eni Award Seismic Survey To Shearwater GeoServices

Shearwater GeoServices said on Jan. 18 it has been awarded a 10,000-sq-km (3,861-sq-mile) marine seismic acquisition services contract by Total and Eni.

The contract is for Total and Eni’s 2018 exploration program, which is located approximately 300 km (186 miles) offshore Myanmar. Shearwater will deploy the vessel Polar Empress for the survey, which is expected to take about six months, commencing in January 2018.

Total and Eni are the operators of the two blocks to be surveyed, YWB and MD-04, off the coast of Myanmar.

The Polar Empress vessel was built in 2015, has a capacity of up to 22 streamers and is one of the most powerful and efficient seismic vessels in the world.

This contract is the second significant recent award to Shearwater, following the November 2017 award by a national oil company for a five- to six-month contract for which it started mobilizing the vessels Polar Duchess and Polar Marquis in December.

“The seismic market remains challenging, but on the back of a solid operational performance in 2017 in combination with recently awarded contracts, Shearwater is well-positioned through the winter season and for 2018 as a whole,” CEO Irene Waage Basili said.

Norway Awards Record 75 Oil Exploration Licenses

Norway has awarded a record 75 offshore oil exploration licenses to Statoil, Aker BP, Shell, Total and ConocoPhillips, among others, the energy ministry said Jan. 16.

The licenses comprised 45 in the North Sea, 22 in the Norwegian Sea and eight in the Barents Sea and were awarded in a so-called annual predefined areas licensing round, introduced by Norway in 2003 to encourage exploration and development of discoveries near existing infrastructure.

“The number of licenses is the highest ever awarded in a licensing round on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Access to new prospective exploration acreage is a central pillar in the government's petroleum policy,” Energy Minister Terje Soeviknes said in a statement.

The 75 licenses were awarded to 34 firms, of which 19 won the right to lead projects.

Environmentalists have criticized the expansion of exploration acreage via annual predefined areas rounds in the Barents Sea, saying that such moves into a largely unexplored area with only two producing fields exceed the original purpose of the rounds.

In total, 39 firms had applied for the offered acreage, up from 33 companies that applied in the previous round a year ago, when the ministry awarded 56 exploration licenses.

Statoil was the biggest winner in the latest round with 31 licenses, including 17 lead operators, while Aker BP came in second with 23 licenses, of which 14 were lead operators.

Shell, Total, ConocoPhillips, Lundin Petroleum and ExxonMobil were among those awarded acreage.

Energean Picks Up Exploration Licenses Offshore Israel

Israel’s energy ministry has awarded Energean five offshore licenses to explore for oil and gas in the Mediterranean Sea, according to a news release.

The three-year licenses are for blocks 12, 21, 22, 23 and 31, which are all located near the Karish and Tanin gas fields Energean is working to develop.

Energean said it believes licenses awarded are “highly prospective and would benefit, in the event of any economic hydrocarbon discoveries, from being developed via tiebacks to the FPSO [unit] that Energean will construct for the development of the Karish and Tanin fields.”

The three-year licenses carry a possibility for an extension for another three years as long as the company carries out work and promises to drill. Reuters reported Energean was required to prove it had assets of at least $400 million and $100 million in shareholders’ equity as a condition for the licenses, to ensure it would search for oil and gas.

—Staff & Reuters Reports

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