World of Oil and Gas
World of Oil and Gas
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| EXPLORATION | |||
CGGVeritas awarded Angola 4D processing program |
After negotiating with Total Exploration & Production Angola and Sonangol, CGGVeritas has been awarded a five-year contract for the 4D seismic processing and imaging of annual and biennial monitor surveys planned for offshore Angola. Over 6,000 sq km of seismic data from five of Total’s group of deep, offshore fields (Girassol/Jasmim, Rosa, Dalia/Camelia, Pazflor and CLOV) in Block 17, which is operated by Total in partnership with Statoil, BP and Esso, are expected to be processed over the contract’s duration. The large program, including fast-track, base and monitor processing, will be shared between the CGGVeritas processing center in Luanda and the CGGVeritas dedicated processing center for Total in Pau, France. |
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Seismic work to begin at Simba’s Kenyan Block 2A |
Simba Energy Inc. was notified by GeoDynamics Research S.R.L. that on-site reconnaissance of its 100% interest in Block 2A, Kenya, was to begin in late April. Crew and equipment were scheduled to arrive early this month to begin an extensive program acquiring passive seismic survey data. The scope of this survey covers 290 sq mi with 250 MPS (measuring points) on 1.24-mi spacing, to identify and evaluate areas with hydrocarbon potential on Simba’s Block 2A. |
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Kosmos wins new exploration licenses offshore Mauritania |
Kosmos Energy has signed three production sharing contracts (PSCs) with the Government of Mauritania for offshore Blocks C8, C12, and C13. The contracts will take effect upon formal ratification by the government of Mauritania. The blocks, which are contiguous, range in water depths between 5,250 and 9,800 ft, and have a combined extent of around 6.7 million gross acres. Kosmos will operate the three blocks with a 90% interest. The national oil company, Societe Mauritanienne des Hydrocabures (SMH), will hold a carried interest of 10%. In the initial exploration phase under each of the contracts, Kosmos plans to acquire 2D and 3D seismic data. The company targets first drilling as early as 2014. The execution of the PSCs represents Kosmos’ initial entry into Mauritania. |
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Rosneft, Eni sign deal on Russia offshore exploration |
Russia’s largest oil producer Rosneft and Italy’s Eni have signed a cooperation deal to jointly develop Russian offshore energy deposits in the Barents Sea and the Black Sea. The deal also stipulates that Rosneft will get access to Eni’s international projects in North Africa, and later in other parts of the world. The agreement establishes a joint venture to explore the Fedynsky and Central Barents fields in the Barents Sea and the Western Chernomorsky field in the Black Sea. Eni will hold 33.33% stake in the project to develop the fields, which combined have total recoverable reserves of 36 billion barrels of oil equivalent. Eni is expected to invest $2 billion in exploration of the fields, whose development would cost the companies more than $100 billion, Rosneft said. |
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UNCONVENTIONALS |
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Statoil launches new rig type for increased oil recovery |
Statoil awarded Aker Solutions a contract for the development and hire of an entirely new type of category B rig, which increases recovery from existing fields. The rig is designed and equipped for the industrialization of drilling and intervention services in existing production wells and represents a new type of service. With associated integrated services, it is expected to reduce operating costs for well intervention by as much as 40%. |
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| GDF Suez, GAIL to build India’s first floating LNG terminal |
French power company GDF Suez SA, GAIL (India) Ltd. and the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh have agreed to set up the South Asian nation’s first floating terminal to import liquefied natural gas. The terminal, on India’s east coast, will have an annual capacity of 3.5 million tons and will be commissioned by the end of 2013. GDF Suez will hold a 26% stake in the import terminal, and Andhra Pradesh Gas Distribution Corp. will control the remainder, the companies said in a statement. The companies didn’t give any investment projections for the project. |
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ONEOK Partners to invest $1.5 billion on Bakken-to-Oklahoma pipeline |
ONEOK Partners, L.P. announced plans to invest $1.5 billion to $1.8 billion, between now and 2015, to build a 1,300-mi crude oil pipeline with the capacity to transport 200,000 bpd. The Bakken Crude Express Pipeline will transport light-sweet crude oil from the Bakken shale in the Williston basin in North Dakota to the Cushing, Okla., crude oil market hub. Additionally, the proposed pipeline route will be well-positioned to transport crude oil production from some segments of the Niobrara shale. |
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PRODUCTION |
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| Eni starts gas production in western Siberia | Eni, for the first time in its history, has begun producing hydrocarbons in the Russian Federation, from Samburskoye field, in the autonomous district of Yamal-Nenets in western Siberia. Initial gas and liquids production from the field, which is operated by SeverEnergia, a company in which Eni holds a 30% stake, will be 43,000 boepd. A maximum gas and liquids production of 145,000 boepd will be reached in 2015. The gas produced will be sold to Gazprom, while Eni will retain the buy-back and marketing rights on the Russian domestic market. The condensates will be destined for foreign markets. | ||
| Tethys completes first oil sale through Kazakh facility | Tethys Petroleum has completed the first shipment of commercial oil production through its Aral Oil Terminal (AOT) at Shalkar - a purpose-built oil storage and rail loading facility to connect the company’s Doris oil field to the Kazakh rail system. AOT enables an initial doubling of production to approximately 4,000 bopd. It is located 143 mi from Doris oil field. A long-term contract has been signed with Kazakh railways to allocate up to 13,500 bpd of railcar capacity to AOT, giving Tethys and the railway significant flexibility for the future. | ||
| DONG Energy puts Norwegian oil field into production | DONG Energy will increase its production of oil and gas via output from Norway’s Oselvar field. This is the company’s second development as operator in Norway. Oselvar follows on the heels of Marulk gas field, which Eni, as operator, put into production earlier in April. DONG Energy is a license partner in Marulk. | ||
BUSINESS |
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| National Oilwell Varco acquires Wilson |
National Oilwell Varco, Inc. announced that it has entered into an agreement with Schlumberger Limited to purchase its Wilson distribution business segment. Founded in 1921, Wilson is a distributor of pipe, valves and fittings as well as mill, tool and safety products and services to the international energy business and to other industrial customers. |
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| Shell considers investing $4 billion onshore Nigeria |
Royal Dutch Shell is looking at investing a further $4 billion in its operations onshore Nigeria in efficiency projects, aimed at both raising production and minimizing harmful natural gas flaring, Chief Executive Peter Voser said. In remarks to investors published on Shell’s website, Voser said the firm’s oil production in Nigeria rose to about 800,000 bpd in 2011. However, he also highlighted the dangers of working in the country, where two of its contractors were killed by gunmen last year. Nigeria, an OPEC producer nation, accounted for around 10% of Shell’s total global output last year. |
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| Aramco official outlines shale E&P challenges | An official at Saudi Aramco has explained that developing shale gas in the Kingdom will be “a challenge.” Adnan Kanaan, general supervisor for gas reservoir management at Aramco, told a conference in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, that the depth of reservoirs and likelihood of very low permeability will make hydraulic fracturing in the country difficult. Kanaan said Saudi has “great potential” as a shale gas producer. Contrary to earlier indications that Aramco would attempt shale gas exploration alone, Kanaan said that Schlumberger, Halliburton and Baker Hughes are likely to be involved. | ||
| Schlumberger acquires GEDCO | Schlumberger has acquired GEDCO, a Calgary-based provider of integrated geophysical survey design software and services. The group will become part of the WesternGeco business unit. GEDCO has developed OMNI 3D, for seismic survey design and modeling, and VISTA, a flexible 2D/3D seismic data processing package. The group also offers consulting services for 2D and 3D seismic. | ||
REGULATORY AFFAIRS |
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| Chesapeake shareholder sues CEO McClendon, board | Chesapeake Energy Corp. Chief Executive Aubrey McClendon and several of the natural gas producer’s board were sued by a shareholder, who cited a published report on $1.1 billion in loans the CEO obtained against his stake in company wells. The Deborah Mallow IRA SEP Investment Plan brought the lawsuit, filed in the District Court of Western District of Oklahoma. The board members being sued were not identified in the report. Earlier reports have stated that McClendon had taken out the loans over the past three years. The company and McClendon told news outlets that the loans do not present a conflict. | ||
| Norway approves Lundin’s $4.2-billion Edvard Grieg oil field | Lundin Petroleum has received approval from the Norwegian government for development of Edvard Grieg oil field, the company’s first operated field offshore Norway. The $4.2-billion development contains 186 MMboe with peak production expected to be about 90,000 boepd. Edvard Grieg, formerly known as Luno, is the first of several new developments on the Utsire Height in the North Sea. Edvard Grieg’s production will be combined with nearby Draupne field, which is operated by Det Norske Oljeselskap (DNO). The development calls for 15 wells to be drilled from a jackup with first production expected in fourth-quarter 2015. | ||
| Qatar takes 3% Total stake | Qatar Holding, a unit of the Gulf nation’s sovereign wealth fund, has increased its stake in French oil group Total to 3% and is undecided on buying more shares, its chief executive said. The two companies are jointly planning to invest in projects in West Africa, Bloomberg reported. The announcement preceded the conclusion of the first round of the French presidential elections, where communist-backed hard leftist Jean-Luc Melenchon had attracted interest with calls for the nationalization of Total. Melenchon, who polls showed at one stage challenging hard right politician Marine Le Pen for third place, finished a distant fourth on 11.1%. The oil-rich state of Qatar is now among Total’s top five shareholders, after the company’s employees, and Belgian investor Albert Frere. Qatar has already bought stakes in several French companies, including media-to-aerospace conglomerate Lagerdere. | ||
DISCOVERIES |
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| Kuwait Energy strikes oil in Egypt’s Gulf of Suez area | Kuwait Energy has made a new oil discovery at its West Ahmad-1X well, in Area A in the Gulf of Suez, Egypt, adjacent to Shukheir North West field. The well encountered oil in the Kareem formation, and initial tests showed a production flowrate of 1,250 bopd. This is the fourth exploration success in the Area A concession, and the 17th Egyptian discovery for Kuwait Energy since 2008. | ||
| CNOOC discovers more crude at Penglai oil fields | CNOOC Ltd., China’s largest offshore oil producer, said that it has confirmed the size of a crude oil deposit at its Penglai 9-1 field and discovered crude at its Penglai 15-2 field in Bohai Bay. The company made the Penglai 9-1 discovery in 2010; it is the largest oil find in recent years at Bohai, the company said in statement, without specifying the estimated size of the deposit. One of the wells was tested and produced 700 bopd. CNOOC said a discovery well at Penglai 15-2 indicated an average rate of more than 1,200 bopd. | ||
| Shell, Nexen boost resource base at Appomattox | Operator Shell and partner Nexen Inc. completed the evaluation of a recent drilling success on the northeast fault block of the Appomattox structure in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. The companies demonstrated contingent recoverable resources in the northeast block of approximately 215 MMboe, with a range of 120 to 370 MMboe of light oil. Future planned appraisal drilling will further refine this range. The Appomattox structure is comprised of three large fault blocks. The initial discovery well in 2010 was in the south fault block. | ||
| Gran Tierra confirms 2,525-bopd production test at Colombian well | Gran Tierra Energy Inc. announced that its Ramiriqui-1 oil exploration well in the Llanos-22 Block, in the Andean foothills trend of the Llanos basin, has reached total depth at 19,519-ft MD, in basement. Gran Tierra Energy, along with its operating partner, Compania Espanola de Petroleos, (CEPSA), has completed initial testing on Ramiriqui-1 by collecting reservoir data and fluid samples from the Mirador formation. The formation has 130 ft gross thickness, and was perforated and tested from 17,610 ft to 17,630 ft, MD, in the uppermost primary reservoir interval. The interval had natural flow rates, without pumps, of up to 2,525 boepd. The partners are evaluating options for testing additional reservoir intervals, drilling an appraisal well, and implementing an early production program. | ||
| Anadarko’s Heidelberg appraisal confirms extension | Anadarko Petroleum Corp. said that the Heidelberg sidetrack appraisal well in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico successfully confirmed an extension of up to 1,500 acres. The well successfully defined the down-dip limits of the Heidelberg field. Anadarko and Heidelberg’s co-owners have initiated pre-FEED (front-end engineering and design) work to evaluate development solutions. The Heidelberg sidetrack appraisal well in Green Canyon Block 903 is located about 1.3 mi from the Heidelberg discovery well. The well was drilled to a total depth of approximately 30,440 ft in a water depth of roughly 5,260 ft. | ||
| Petrobras finds new deposit in pre-salt Santos region | Petrobras discovered a new oil accumulation of good quality at well 1-RJS-689A, to the north of Lula field, in the pre-salt Santos basin. The new well, informally known as Dolomita Sul, is located at a water depth of 1,747 m and is 177 km off the coast of Rio de Janeiro state in Block BM-S-42. This discovery confirms the potential of the pre-salt region beyond the limits of the first discoveries (pre-salt cluster). The well, which is still in the drilling phase, also seeks to accomplish deeper objectives. After drilling is completed, Petrobras will evaluate the productivity of these reservoirs through formation tests. The discovery was confirmed through oil sampling using cable test, at carbonate reservoirs in pre-salt layers, situated some 5,660 m deep. | ||
| Wintershall makes North Sea discovery off Norway | Germany’s Wintershall announced a discovery at its Skarfjell prospect in production licence 418 of the northeastern North Sea. Wildcat well 35/9-7 found Upper Jurassic reservoir sands of very good quality, containing light oil with a significant oil column. Preliminary resource estimates range between 60 million and 160 million bbl of recoverable oil. Commercial viability, as well as potential further upside, will need to be confirmed through appraisal drilling. The Skarfjell discovery is approximately 17 km southwest of Gjøa field and lies between the Grosbeak discovery to the south and the Titan find to the north. | ||
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