Exploration discoveries

	Vol. 230 No. 7
ARTHUR BERMAN, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, bermanae@gmail.com

Africa-Middle East. The Oberon-1 well is a BP oil discovery on Block 31 offshore Angola in 5,328 ft of water, some 210 mi northwest of Luanda near the Dione Field discovery. The well tested 5,000 bopd and was drilled to a 11,884-ft TD. BP Exploration (Angola) operates with 26.67% interest in partnership with Esso Exploration & Production Angola (20%), Statoil Angola (13.33%), Marathon International Petroleum (10%) and TEPA (Total, 5%).

Apache Corporation’s Phiops-5 appraisal well tested 8,279 bopd and 0.4 MMcfd from Cretaceous Alam El Buieb and Jurassic Safa reservoirs on the South Umbarka Concession, Western Desert of Egypt. Phiops is among five fields discovered by Apache in the area. Khalda Petroleum, a joint venture between Apache and Egyptian General Petroleum Corp. (EGPC), operates with 100% interest.

Dana Gas tested Abu Madi reservoirs, onshore Egypt, with its Tulip-1 well. Flowrates of 11.4 MMcfd and 381 bcpd were achieved. The well is located 4 mi from the company’s recent Salma Delta-1 discovery and was drilled to a 7,218-ft TD.

Vegas Oil & Gas tested 2,809 bopd of oil and 3.04 MMcfd from Kareem Shagar Sandstone reservoirs in its Geyad-1X exploration well on the North West Gemsa Concession onshore Egypt. In addition, 1,174 bopd and 1.3 MMcfd test rates were achieved in Lower Kareem Rahmi reservoirs. Vegas Oil & Gas operates with 50% interest in partnership with Circle Oil (40%) and Premier Oil (10%).

Petronas and Sudan National Petroleum Corp. (Sudapet) made a gas discovery with their Hosan and Tawakul wells on Block 8 in Sudan. Reserves for the wells are about 123 Bcfg, although the block may contain as much as 16–20 Tcf. Petronas and Sudapet each hold 50% interest in White Nile Petroleum Operating Co., which operates Block 8.

Circle Oil made a discovery with its CGD-10 well on the Sebou Block in the Rharb Basin onshore Morocco. The well tested 3.9 MMcfd from Lower Guebbas reservoirs from 2,917 to 2,943 ft. Circle operates with 75% interest and Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM), the Moroccan national oil company, holds the remaining interest.

Americas. Petrobras made an important discovery with its Iracema well [4-BRSA-711-RJS (4-RJS-647)] in the pre-salt play in the Santos Basin offshore Brazil. The well was drilled 20 mi north of Tupi Field and 155 mi offshore Sao Paolo state in 7,250 ft of water. It confirms the 5–8 billion bbl of reserves estimated for that discovery. Petrobras operates with 65% interest, in partnership with BG (25%) and Galp (10%).

Petrobras made an oil discovery on Block BM-C-25 in the Campos Basin offshore Espirito Santo state, Brazil. No details were announced about the discovery on the block, which was relinquished earlier by Royal Dutch Shell. Petrobras operates with 100% interest.

In the Espirito Santo Basin of Brazil, Petrobras made another discovery with its 1-BRSA-719-ESS well on Block ES-M-414. No further information was released about the well, which was drilled in 243 ft of water. Petrobras operates with 80% interest in partnership with Repsol (10%) and Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (10%).

Hocol tested its Huron-1 well at 3,400 bcpd, which was drilled on the Niscota Block in Colombia. The well is located 186 mi northeast of Bogota and was drilled to a TD of 18,275 ft. Hocol operates with 20% interest, along with Talisman (Colombia) Oil & Gas (30%) and Tepma (50%).

Pemex tested 6,000 bopd with its Tekel-1 well, confirming its Ayatsil Field extension in the Campeche Sound, Gulf of Mexico. The company estimates recoverable oil reserves of 100 million bbl near the Ku Maloob Zaap Field. The Ayatsil discovery was announced in 2008.

Penn Virginia discovered gas in its Steele-2H well from Lower Bossier (Haynesville) Shale reservoirs in Harrison County, Texas. Following a 10-stage fracture stimulation using 2.5 million pounds of sand, the well flowed 11.4 MMcfd from the 4,000-ft lateral wellbore. The company holds about 53,000 net acres in East Texas.

Pioneer Natural Resources tested its Friedrichs Gas Unit-1 well at 2.7 MMcfd and 160 bcpd from the Eagle Ford Shale in Dewitt County, Texas. The well was completed using five-stage fracture stimulation in a 3,000-ft lateral borehole.

Asia-Pacific. Rosneft subsidiary Vankorneft tested 2.1 MMcfd and 157 bcpd with the Baikalovsky-1 well on the Baikalovsky Block in the Taymar Autonomous District of Russia. The pay interval was between 6,562 and 8,858 ft. The well is located 50 mi north of Dudinka and adjacent to the giant Vankorskye Field. Reserves are estimated to be 3.5 Tcfg and 391 million bbl of condensate. Vankorneft operates with 100% interest.

Kalmneftegaz made a gas discovery in the northern part of Kalmykia in southern Russia. The company estimated recoverable gas reserves of about 1.23 Tcf, but few details were announced.

Europe. Norske Shell made a giant gas field discovery on its Gro prospect on Block 6603/12-1, PL326 in the Norwegian Sea, offshore Norway. Reserves are estimated to be more than 35 Tcfg for the field, which is located in 4,515 ft of water. Norske Shell operates with 60% interest in partnership with StatoilHydro, which holds the remaining 40%.

Talisman Energy discovered oil with its Grevling well on Block 15/12 in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea, 9 mi south of Sleipner Ost Field. Combined rates of 1,250 bopd were tested from two Jurassic reservoirs. The well was drilled to a 10,722-ft TD in 282 ft of water. Talisman operates with 40% working interest in partnership with Petoro (30%) and Det Norske Oljeselskap (30%).

ATP Oil and Gas tested 59 MMcfd from its Wenlock Field on Block 49/12 North in the UK sector of the North Sea. The well is the third drilled from the Wenlock platform in 92 ft of water. ATP operates with 20% interest; the remainder is held by EDF Production UK.
Serica Energy found oil in its Bandon well drilled on Block FEL1/06 offshore western Ireland. The well was drilled to a TD of 6,233 ft through Jurassic reservoirs, but no other information was announced. Serica operates with 50% interest, and RWE Dea holds the remaining interest.

Arthur Berman is a geological consultant specializing in petroleum geology, seismic interpretation and database design and management. He has over 20 years working for major oil companies and was editor of the Houston Geological Society’s Bulletin. He earned an MS in geology from the Colorado School of Mines.