World of oil and gas

Vol. 234 No. 11

Total sanctions development of Argentina’s offshore Vega Pleyade field

Total (37.5%, operator) has given final investment approval to developing the Vega Pleyade gas and condensate field offshore, which will produce through three horizontal wells. Together with production from other Total-operated fields in the area, it will allow optimization of supply to the existing treatment plants and continuation of the plateau production of 130,000 boed. Vega Pleyade is offshore Tierra del Fuego in the Cuenca Marina Austral 1 (CMA-1) concession, which Total has operated since 1978. The field development plan consists of a wellhead platform in 50 m of water, which will tie into the Total-operated onshore Rio Cullen and Cañadon Alfa treatment plants via a 77-km pipeline. Separately, Total will also begin offshore drilling in 2014, both to boost production from Carina field, which started up in 2005, and to appraise the CMA-1 Block. Photo courtesy of Wintershall.

Cloud security report warns of threats to energy sector

According to the most recent State of Cloud Security Bulletin on Information Security in the Energy Sector, authored by cloud security provider Alert Logic, the energy industry is facing elevated brute force and malware/botnet attack levels, compared to other sectors. The report found that 67% of energy companies experienced brute force attacks, versus 34% of the entire customer set. It found that many attacks intended to damage or destroy collected geophysical data, or to steal intellectual property, for the purpose of “industrial espionage.” Additionally, the report stated that 61% of energy companies experienced malware/botnet infiltration attacks, versus 13% of the entire customer set. These attacks seek access to physical infrastructure systems that control pipelines and other key plant operations. Some technologies, such as SCADA systems, are vulnerable to hacking, while the emerging business practices of BYOD (bring your own device) and BYOA (bring your own applications) in the workplace can be carriers of viruses and other malware.

Shell consortium bids successfully for giant Libra field offshore Brazil

A consortium of companies, including Shell, Petrobras, Total, CNPC and CNOOC, has won a 35-year production-sharing contract (PSC) to develop the giant Libra pre-salt oil discovery in the Santos basin, offshore Brazil. Regulatory agency ANP estimates Libra’s recoverable oil resources to be between 8–12 billion bbl. Shell holds 20% in the consortium, with Petrobras (40%) as operator, and Total (20%), CNPC (10%) and CNOOC (10%) as partners. The PSC is expected to be signed this month. As part of the winning bid, Shell will pay its 20% share of the total signing bonus of $1.4 billion, and fulfill the minimum work program no later than the end of 2017. The ultra-deepwater Libra field is approximately 170 km off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. The block covers roughly 1,550 sq km, in water depths of around 6,500 ft. The reservoir depth is around 11,500 ft below the sea floor. ANP estimates that total gross peak production could reach 1.4 million bopd.

Noble Energy exchanges acreage in DJ basin

Noble Energy has closed on an acreage exchange with Anadarko Petroleum in the greater Wattenberg area of northern Colorado. Each party contributed approximately 50,000 net acres to the exchange.  The effective date of the transaction is Jan. 1, 2013. Noble Energy was reimbursed $202 million for capital spent to drill and complete wells on the conveyed acreage. This was partially offset by other adjustments in determining the $105 million of cash that the company received at closing. The exchange will lower net production from recent levels by approximately 8,000 boed, almost entirely related to the recently drilled wells. This short-term reduction in production is anticipated to be offset quickly by operational efficiencies and cost savings. Photo courtesy of Anadarko Petroleum.

Eni announced successful completion of the Evans Shoal North-1 appraisal in Evans Shoal gas field in the Timor Sea, Australia. The offshore field is in the NT/P48 exploration permit, in the north Bonaparte basin, some 300 km northwest of Darwin. The well, drilled in a water depth of 111 m, to a target depth of 3,955 m, is 12 km from the Evans Shoal-2 well. Results indicate that these wells share common reservoir characteristics, and are in hydraulic communication. During the well production test, the gas flow reached the facility constraint of 30 MMcfd. Eni estimates that Evans Shoal gas field contains at least 8 Tcf of raw gas in place. Partners in the NT/P48 JV are Eni Australia (32.5%), Shell (32.5%, operator), Petronas Carigali (Australia) Pty (25%) and Osaka Gas Australia Pty (10%). Eni operates the Evans Shoal North well on behalf of the JV.

Chevron Canada Limited successfully concluded its initial exploration phase in the Kaybob area of the Duvernay play, in west-central Alberta, Canada. Chevron concluded the initial 12-well exploration drilling program in the liquids-rich portion of the Duvernay play. Five wells have been completed, and are tied into production facilities, and an additional four wells are awaiting completion and tie-in. The company’s acreage is positioned in the condensate-rich and volatile-oil portion of the play. Liquids yield for the completed wells ranges from 30–70%, with initial production rates of up to 7.5 MMcfgd, and 1,300 bcpd. With the acquisition of Alta Energy Luxembourg and its affiliates’ acreage announced earlier this year, Chevron now has approximately 325,000 net acres in the Kaybob area. Jeff Shellebarger, president of Chevron North America Exploration and Production Company, said that the company’s near-term plans include “transitioning to a two-rig drilling program, to optimize well and completion design, and full field spacing requirements.”

INPEX Corporation announced that it was granted Exploration License P2019 in the North Sea, jointly with Centrica Resources and Statoil, in addition to two licenses previously awarded from the UK’s 27th Seaward Licensing Round. P2019 is 60 km northwest of Shetland Island, to the north of the first two licenses. The license is operated by Centrica (35%), while INPEX holds a 30% participating interest, and Statoil holds 35%. The JV plans to carry out seismic interpretation prior to undertaking exploration efforts in the area.

Lukoil has pumped first oil from its West Qurna-2 project in Iraq, and expects to begin sales this year. Well 139 produced high-quality light oil following perforation, according to Lukoil. Iraq surpassed neighboring Iran last year as OPEC’s second-largest crude exporter, after Saudi Arabia. Output from West Qurna-2, one of the largest oil field complexes in Iraq, will increase to 400,000 bopd by the end of 2014.

The Onshore Processing Facility (OPF) of Kirinskoye gas and condensate field in the Sakhalin Region has commenced its first gas production and transmission system testing. One production well is now ready, and six more are planned for the field. Once the nominal capacity is reached, gas production will amount to 5.5 Bcm per year. The Kirinskoye OPF will receive gas, not only from Kirinskoye field, but eventually from other fields in the Sakhalin III project. Kirinskoye is in the Sea of Okhotsk, 28 km from shore, and is Russia’s first-ever subsea production facility. The system’s key element is placed at a depth of 90 m, and comprises several high-pressure pipelines fixed to a single base, and connected under a specific pattern. Gazprom’s sixth-generation semisubmersible rig, Polyarnaya Zvezda (Polar Star), is being used to drill and complete wells at Kirinskoye. Photo courtesy of Gazprom.

CNOOC Limited has made a mid-sized discovery, Luda 5-2 North, and successfully appraised the Kenli 9-5/9-6 mid-sized oil and gas structure. Luda 5-2 North is in the Liaodong Bay of Bohai, with an average water depth of 31 m. Discovery wells Luda 5-2N-2 and LD 5-2N-4 were both drilled and completed at a depth of roughly 1,140 m, and encountered oil pay zones with total thickness of about 120 m and 85 m, respectively. The Luda 5-2N-2 well’s oil production was tested at around 1,040 bpd. Kenli 9-5/9-6 is in the Laixi structure, in the southern part of Bohai, with an average water depth of 9 m. CNOOC drilled the Kenli 9-5-2D and Kenli 9-6-2 wells, and completed them at depths of 2,200 m and 1,250 m, respectively.

Repsol makes oil discovery in Libya’s Murzuq basin

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