Engie, Partners Strike Gas, Oil In North Sea

Engie E&P, Tullow Oil and other partners are considering linking their recent oil and natural gas discovery in the Norwegian North Sea to nearby infrastructure, according to a news release.

The companies said the discovery at the Cara prospect could hold between an estimated 25 million barrels of oil equivalent and 70 MMboe.

Drilled by Transocean Arctic to a total depth of 2,702 m in 349 m of water, Engie hit a 51-m natural gas column and a 60-m oil column in the Åsgard formation at the Cara prospect, which is about 6 km northeast of the Gjøa Field. The Gjøa semisubmersible floating production platform is also operated by Engie E&P.

“The well was formation-tested. The maximum production rate was 1.3 million Sm3 gas per flow day through a 76/64-inch nozzle opening,” the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) said in a news release. “The gas/oil ratio is approx. 16,000 Sm3/Sm3. The formation test generally showed very good production and flow properties. Extensive data and samples were collected.”

Tying the discovery to existing infrastructure will cut time and costs, Cedric Osterrieth, managing director for ENGIE E&P Norge, said in a company statement.

“The discovery is situated in our core area in the North Sea, and confirms our view that even mature areas of the Norwegian Continental Shelf have an interesting exploration potential,” Osterrieth said.

The 36/7-4 wildcat well is the first exploration in production license 636, according to the NPD.

With a 30% stake, Engie E&P Norge AS is the operator of license 636. Tullow holds a 20% stake. Production license partners also include Idemitsu Petroleum Norge and Wellesley Petroleum, holding 30% and 20%, respectively.

Wintershall Makes Small Oil Find In North Sea

Tie-ins to existing fields are among the development options for a small oil discovery, Antares, made by Wintershall and its partners, the company said.

Wintershall said it found oil near the Vega Field in the Norwegian North Sea. Preliminary evaluation suggests recoverable volumes in the Antares discovery—located in wells 35/11-20 S, 35/11-20 A and 35/11-20 B—are between 10 MMbbl and 28 MMbbl of oil.

According to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, well 35/11-20 S—drilled of 3,553 m (11,657 ft) below the sea surface—hit an 8-m (26-ft) oil column in the secondary exploration target at the top of intra Heather Formation sandstone, but the reservoir quality was poor. Well 35/11-20 A, drilled to a measured depth of 19 m (62 ft) below the sea surface, encountered a 33-m oil column in intra Heather Formation sandstone, of which the NPD said 19 m (62 ft) were of good reservoir quality. However, technical issues prevented the operator from reaching Middle Jurassic (Brent group) and Early Jurassic (Cook formation) reservoir rocks to find oil.

Drilled to further delineate the discovery, the NPD said well 35/11-20 B encountered a total oil column of 46 m (151 ft) in intra Heather formation sandstone, of which 29 m (95 ft) were of moderate reservoir quality. A 19-m oil column was encountered in the Tarbert formation in the Brent group, while only traces of petroleum were found in the Cook Formation. The well was drilled to measured and vertical depths of 5,083 m and 4,055 m (16,676.5 ft and 13,304 ft) below the sea surface, respectively, and was terminated in the Statfjord group in the Early Jurassic.

The wells were drilled by the Borgland Dolphin semisubsmersible.

Pemex Reports Recent Discoveries Of Six New GoM Crude Deposits

Pemex said on Sept. 13 that it discovered six new deposits in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM), two of which are superlight crude in deep waters and four of which are light crude in shallow waters.

Pemex, which has been struggling with declining output for over a decade, also plans to drill 30 exploratory wells in 2017, it said in a statement.

A Pemex spokesman said the discoveries were made a few months ago but were not announced immediately in order to quantify the reserves and guarantee their commercial viability.

Pemex said that in the oil-rich Cinturon Plegado de Perdido area, which is in the deepwater GoM, it had already drilled the Nobilis-1 Well located 2220 km (137 miles), off the coast of the northeastern state of Tamaulipas, at a depth of 3,000 m (9,842.5 ft) to the ocean floor and at a total depth of more than 6 km (3.7 miles).

The company said that in the two deepwater discoveries, the crude had a super-light gravity of more than 40 degrees API. Pemex said the two wells could eventually deliver 15 Mbbl/d and could have between 140 MMboe and 160 MMboe of proved, probable and possible (3-P) reserves.

The company also said it discovered light crude and gas in the Teca-1 Well located 30 km (18.6 miles) off the Gulf Coast at 44 m below the surface. Its estimated 3-P reserves were between 50 MMboe and 60 MMboe.

Pemex, which has enacted major spending cuts due to the collapse of oil prices, said it would focus the majority of its investments on areas where it thinks it has the highest probability of discovering crude.

Pemex estimates its average production will be 1.9 MMbbl/d in 2017, its lowest level since 1980, as a result of the spending cuts.

SeaBird Gears Up For Barents Sea Multiclient Survey

SeaBird Exploration said it will acquire a long offset 2-D multiclient survey in the Barents Sea.

Jointly designed by SeaBird and Lundin Norway, the survey aims to acquire long-offset profiles that image large scale deep seated crustal structures beneath the Norwegian Barents Sea. Lundin Norway will supervise the processing of the dataset, and SeaBird will use the Harrier Explorer for the work.

The profiles will be acquired during September and October.

Schlumberger, Petronas Sign Contract For Deepwater GoM Seismic Survey

Petronas, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Petronas (E&P) Overseas Ventures Sdn Bhd, has signed an agreement to license a significant part of the WesternGeco Campeche wide-azimuth (WAZ) deepwater multiclient seismic survey in the southern Gulf of Mexico, a Schlumberger press release stated. The WesternGeco Campeche WAZ deepwater multiclient seismic survey is located in the southern Gulf of Mexico. More than 80,000 sq km of newly imaged subsurface data, which have been acquired in the last 12 months, are available for oil and gas companies participating in exploration in Mexico. The project follows the Mexican government’s opening of licensing rounds to nongovernment companies for the first time.

—Staff & Reuters Reports