World of Oil and Gas
Statoil granted exploration licenses offshore Canada and Indonesia
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Statoil granted exploration licenses offshore Canada and Indonesia |
Norwegian oil and gas major Statoil has received the rights to operate a large offshore exploration license in eastern Indonesia, bringing its total number of licenses in the region to eight. Statoil will operate the Halmahera II license with an 80% working interest while Canadian exploration and production company Niko Resources will hold the remaining 20%. Halmahera II, which covers an area of more than 3,090 sq mi, is located close to the Obi and Halmahera-Kofiau licenses that Statoil received earlier this year. |
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Australia awards nine new offshore permits |
Australia has handed out nine new offshore permits that will open the door to petroleum exploration investments worth $380.8 million and may benefit the country’s long-term energy security. Permits to explore waters off the state of Western Australia were awarded to Woodside Petroleum, Royal Dutch Shell, Mitsui E&P Australia, Cottesloe Oil & Gas, Strike Energy, WHL Energy and Santos Energy. The government said 33 bids were received for 12 areas in the second round of the 2010 Offshore Petroleum Exploration Acreage Release. Of the nine permits awarded, Woodside received seven permits, one alone and the others in partnership with either Shell or Mitsui. |
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Duo to spend $200 million on Turkey exploration |
Royal Dutch Shell and state-owned Turkish Petroleum Corp. are expected to spend a combined $200 million on exploration activities in Turkey, following an announcement that Shell and Turkey had signed a deal to look for oil and gas on Turkish soil and in the Mediterranean Sea. That amount is the anticipated outlay of both parties combined over five years, said Shell. |
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ExxonMobil to explore for oil in Iraqi Kurdistan |
ExxonMobil Corp. has signed agreements to explore for oil and gas in six blocks in the Kurdish region of Iraq. ExxonMobil is the first of the supermajors to reach such an agreement with the Kurdistan Regional Government, which has long been in dispute with Iraq’s central government over its right to issue oil exploration licenses. The company is already operating in Iraq under a service contract with the Baghdad government, producing around 370,000 bopd from the West Qurna field. The Baghdad government had previously excluded companies that operate in the Kurdish region from receiving oil contracts elsewhere in the country. |
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Seismic acquisition to begin offshore Malta |
Mediterranean O&G it has entered into a contract with Fugro-Geoteam, who will undertake the acquisition of 386 sq mi of long offset 3D seismic exploration data at Area 4 offshore Malta. Fugro-Geoteam seismic vessel R/V Geo Barents has commenced mobilization and, following the 3D survey, expects results from the processed data towards the end of the first quarter of 2012 |
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UNCONVENTIONALS |
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San Leon completes first shale well in Baltic basin |
San Leon announced the successful completion of its first shale gas exploration well in the Baltic basin. The Talisman Energy-operated Lewino 1G-2 well, on the Gdansk W Concession in Poland, has been drilled to 11,811 ft. Over 1,017 ft of core were taken in the well to evaluate the rock properties and an extensive open hole logging program was also performed to further evaluate the potential of the area. Evaluation and interpretation of the core and logs is expected to take three to four months in preparation for continued operations in 2012. |
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| Pemex seeking partners, technology insight for shale gas development | Mexico must decide whether state oil monopoly Pemex alone will develop the country’s huge shale gas reserves before the resource can be fully exploited, a government regulator said. Mexico has the world’s fourth largest shale gas reserves with 681 Bcf, trailing only China, the US and Argentina, according to US estimates. While Pemex controls the nation’s energy sector, the company does not have the resources to exploit shale gas and cannot easily seek the outside help it needs, said Edgar Rangel, a commissioner for Mexico’s energy regulator, the National Hydrocarbons Commission. If the investment does not come from private partners, Rangel said, the government might need to offer the cash. Mexico’s constitution grants Pemex total control over exploiting fossil fuels and the country only recently allowed the company to seek foreign partners. Pemex awarded its first foreign contracts in August. |
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PRODUCTION |
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| Shell sets world record for deepest subsea oil and gas well | Shell Oil Company is now producing oil from the world’s deepest subsea well at its Perdido development. The well, at 9,627 ft below the water’s surface, is located in the Tobago field 200 mi southwest of Houston in the ultra-deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Tobago breaks the world water depth record for subsea production, previously held by another field in the Perdido development, the Silvertip field at 9,356 ft of water. Moored in about 8,000 ft of water, the Perdido spar is jointly owned by Shell (33.34%), BP (33.33%) and Chevron (33.33%) and is the deepest drilling and production facility in the world, with a capacity to handle 100,000 bopd and 200 MMcfd. | ||
| Eni’s giant Libyan Elephant oil field restarts production | Production has restarted at the giant Elephant oil field in Libya, which is partly owned by Eni. The resumption of Eni’s largest Libyan field comes after the recent restart of Repsol YPF’s Sharara field. Libya now expects production to reach up to 800,000 bopd by year end – about half of its pre-war production. Elephant’s output normally accounts for about 25% of Eni’s Libyan production and averaged 130,000 bpd before the war, according to Mohamed Jamaleddin, a member of the management committee of Mellitah Oil and Gas BV. | ||
BUSINESS |
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| Petronas, Shell to spend $12 billion on Malaysia fields | Malaysia’s state-owned oil and gas company Petronas said that it has signed an agreement with Royal Dutch Shell to jointly develop oil fields in Malaysia and work on enhanced oil recovery projects. Under the agreement, the two will together spend $12 billion to enhance oil recovery and increase the life of two projects offshore Sarawak and Sabah in East Malaysia. They will develop nine oil fields in the Baram Delta offshore Sarawak and four in the North Sabah development area. The projects aim to arrest the decline in Malaysia’s oil production and extend the fields’ life beyond 2040. |
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| Reliance Industries, BP form natural gas JV | Reliance Industries and BP announced the formation of an equal joint venture called India Gas Solutions Pvt. Ltd. for sourcing and marketing natural gas in India. Reliance and BP will provide an equal amount of equity to fund the new company. India Gas Solutions will initially have 30 employees and it will assume the administration of the existing gas contracts to KG-D6 customers, in addition to other opportunities, the companies said. In August, Reliance Industries closed a $7.2 billion deal under which it sold a 30% stake in 21 exploration blocks in India to BP, including the gas-rich D6 block in the Krishna Godavari basin. |
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| Investor Group to acquire Samson for $7.2 billion | An investor group consisting of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P., Natural Gas Partners, Crestview Partners and Itochu Corporation announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire Samson Investment Company, one of the largest private exploration and production companies in the United States, for $7.2 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, the investor group will acquire all of Samson’s assets with the exception of its onshore Gulf Coast and offshore deepwater Gulf of Mexico assets, which will continue to be owned by the Schusterman family. Founded in 1971, Samson owns interests in over 10,000 wells, of which it operates over 4,000 in the United States, with key positions in oil and liquids-rich plays such as the Bakken, Powder River, Green River, Granite Wash, Cana Woodford and Cotton Valley as well as in the Haynesville and Bossier gas shales. | ||
REGULATORY AFFAIRS |
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| Chevron could face $51 million in fines for Brazil oil spill | U.S. oil major Chevron faces at least $51 million in fines and reparations for its role in an oil spill at its Frade field offshore Brazil. In addition, the country’s National Petroleum Agency (ANP) could enforce a fine of at least $16.2 million, said a report citing specialists in the oil and natural gas market. Carlos Minc, the environment secretary for the state of Rio de Janeiro, said that Chevron could be forced to pay reparations of at least $5.4 million to fishermen affected by the spill. The company has come under heavy fire by local officials for its handling of the Nov. 8 incident, when a well blowout caused crude oil to seep up from the ocean bottom and create a slick on the surface. The ANP’s initial estimate of the spill pegged the leak at between 200 and 330 bopd between Nov. 8 and Nov. 15. | ||
| DOI proposal could open 75% of US OCS resources | US Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced the proposed Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2012-2017, which makes more than 75% of undiscovered technically recoverable oil and gas resources estimated in federal offshore areas available for exploration and development. The program includes six offshore areas where there are currently active leases and exploration, and where there is known hydrocarbon potential. | ||
| US companies seek permission to operate in Cuban waters | Several US companies are asking the Obama administration for permission to respond to potential oil spills in Cuban waters, hoping to overcome embargo restrictions that currently limit their ability to do so. The companies’ requests coincide with a growing concern among oil industry experts who say the Cuban embargo could cripple the ability of spill containment companies to respond to potential spills that start in Cuban waters, but then move to US shores. Speaking at a congressional hearing, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement Director Michael Bromwich said several companies have asked the US Commerce Department for licenses that would allow them to use subsea well containment systems and other types of equipment to respond to spills in Cuban waters. Bromwich said he had “a high level of confidence” the Commerce Department would approve the licenses. | ||
DISCOVERIES |
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| Petronas discovers oil off Malaysia | Malaysia’s Petronas has made a significant oil discovery offshore Sabah, with a preliminary estimation of 227 MMboe. The discovery was made via the Wakid-1 well within Block 2G-2J, about 60 mi northwest of Kota Kinabalu. The well reached a total vertical depth of 10,925 ft and confirmed the presence of significant oil, and some gas-bearing, reservoirs. Wakid-1 is the second well drilled in Block 2G-2J since the award of its production sharing contract in October of 2010. The block’s first well, Tambuku-1, was drilled earlier this year, but yielded only a minor gas discovery. Petronas is the sole equity holder of the PSC for the block. | ||
| YPF makes large shale oil discovery in Argentina | YPF has confirmed the existence of 927 million barrels of unconventional oil in Neuquen Province of Argentina. The find has the potential to position the country among the world’s leading producers of shale oil. YPF’s find, based on output from 15 producing wells in the Loma La Lata Norte area, includes a previously announced discovery of more than 150 million barrels of high-quality shale oil in the Vaca Muerta formation. The discovery, which has yet to be certified and does not yet form part of the company’s reserves, is the product of YPF’s five-year oil and gas exploration program in Argentina. The company expects to invest about $2.9 billion in exploration and production during 2011, which is the most the company has invested in any year in at least 20 years. YPF began exploring for shale oil in 2007. YPF also said it has outlined another 502-sq-km area that could contain additional oil and gas resources. Last December, YPF said it found an estimated 4.5 Tcf of unconventional gas on the south side of its Loma La Lata field. | ||
| Total makes oil discovery offshore Nigeria | Total announced that its Nigerian subsidiary has made a new oil discovery in the southeastern corner of Oil Mining Lease (OML) 102. The discovery is located 40 mi off the southeastern coast of the country, about nine mi southeast of the Ofon field. The Etisong North-1 well was drilled to a total depth of 7,831 ft in 260 ft of water. One of the three reservoirs encountered tested at 8,500 bopd of 40 degrees API oil. This is the second discovery in the lease following the Etisong Main find in 2008, increasing the feasibility of a new development hub on OML 102. | ||
| Anadarko makes massive shale oil find in Niobrara | Anadarko Petroleum Corp announced it has drilled some successful shale oil and gas wells in Northeastern Colorado. Based on drilling results, Anadarko estimates its properties in the Niobrara and Codell formations in the Wattenberg field have a resource potential of 500 million to 1.5 billion boe. Anadarko is producing from 11 Wattenberg wells, each one having high initial production and high liquids output, the company said. It estimates ultimate recovery for each well is 300,000 to 600,000 boe. | ||
| OGDCL, partners make O&G discovery in Pakistan | Oil & Gas Development Company Ltd. (OGDCL), operator of Nashpa Exploration License in Pakistan, together with its joint venture partners, Pakistan Petroleum Ltd. and Government Holding Private Ltd., have discovered new significant reserves of hydrocarbons at well Nashpa # 02, located in District Karak, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The structure of well was delineated, drilled and tested utilizing indigenous expertise. The first targeted zone of Datta Sandstone has been tested and produced 3,370 bopd and 11 MMcfd of gas. Testing of another four potential reservoir formations will be undertaken, through which similar encouraging results are expected. | ||
| Cairn India makes second gas discovery in Sri Lanka | Cairn India announced a second gas discovery in the Mannar basin of Sri Lanka. The discovery, in the SL 2007-01-001 exploration block, is located about 42 mi from the Sri Lankan coastline, and Cairn Lanka is the sole operator of the block with 100% working interest. In October, Cairn Lanka said it made its first gas discovery in the country’s Mannar basin. It was the first hydrocarbon discovery in Sri Lanka and the first well to be drilled there in 30 years. | ||
Comments? Write: editorial@worldoil.com |
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