Discoveries

Lundin Petroleum, Statoil report gas discovery at Korpfjell prospect in the Barents Sea

Lundin Petroleum and Statoil have completed the Korpfjell exploration well 7435/12-1 in the southeastern Barents Sea. The well, which is the first wildcat to be drilled in PL 859, proved a small, non-commercial gas find. After the semisubmersible rig Songa Enabler drilled the well to a vertical depth of more than 5,052 ft, it encountered a gas column of nearly 112 ft in sandstone with good reservoir quality. According to Lundin Petroleum, the Korpfjell gas discovery contains estimated gross resources between 40 MMboe and 75 MMboe. “While the results of the Korpfjell well are not what we hoped for, it is the first well to be drilled in the southeastern Barents Sea, and more exploration will be needed to understand the potential of this area. Further drilling is expected to take place in 2018, in PL 859 to test additional prospectivity. Additionally, a well is being planned next year on the large Signalhornet prospect in PL 857, located some 300 km south of Korpfjell,” explained Alex Schneiter, CEO and president of Lundin Petroleum. “We are also drilling three further high-impact exploration wells on the Loppa High and Filicudi trends in the southern Barents Sea before the end of the year, and so we remain excited about the significant exploration potential in the area.” Photo: Lundin Petroleum.

GeoPark, Wintershall strike oil in Argentina’s prolific Neuquen basin

GeoPark Limited and Wintershall Energia S.A. have reported the discovery of a new oil field in Argentina’s prolific Neuquen basin. The Rio Grande Oeste 1 exploration well is in the CN-V block, where GeoPark is operator and holds a 50% working interest. Wintershall holds the remaining 50%. The well reportedly was drilled and completed to a TD of 5,500 ft, targeting the Grupo Neuquen formation. According to the companies, preliminary logging data indicate the existence of hydrocarbons in the upper, middle and lower zones. The complete testing program, however, is still ongoing. Production tests have been carried out by GeoPark in four reservoir sands, and early results show a production rate of about 300 bopd. The company says that additional testing is necessary to determine stabilized flowrates of the well.

Woodside reports third gas find offshore Myanmar

Woodside has reported its third gas discovery offshore Myanmar. It follows previous gas finds, including that of the Shwe Yee Htun-1 well in Block A-6 and the Thalin-1A well in Block AD-7—both of which were announced early this year. The Pyi Thit-1 exploration well, which is situated in Block A-6 in the southern Rakhine basin, encountered a gross gas column of approximately 213 ft. According to the company, a net gas pay interval of about 118 ft was interpreted within the primary target sandstone reservoir. After the well was drilled to a TD of about 14,993 ft, wireline logging was carried out, confirming the presence of a gas column. Peter Coleman, Woodside CEO, said, “This result builds on our understanding of the potential resources in the Southern Rakhine basin, and will further inform our consideration of development options.” Woodside holds a 40% stake in the block and serves as joint operator. The company’s partners include MPRL E&P (joint operator, 20%) and Total E&P Myanmar (40%).

Petrobras uncovers oil in pre-salt layer of Brazil’s Campos basin

Petrobras has unearthed an oil accumulation in the pre-salt layer of Brazil’s Campos basin. According to Petrobras, this is the first commercial oil discovery in the pre-salt layer of the Marlim Sul area. Oil was struck during the drilling of well 6-BRSA-1349-RJS/6-MLS-233-RJS, which is situated more than 71 mi off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, in a water depth of nearly 3,632 ft. Petrobras reported that data analyses indicate carbonate reservoirs of good porosity and permeability, at more than 14,500 ft and a thickness of more than 147 ft, with oil presence.

Statoil strikes gas northeast of Heidrun field in the Norwegian North Sea

Statoil has reported a gas discovery in the Norwegian North Sea, nearly 6 mi northeast of Heidrun field and nearly 168 mi southwest of Sandnessjøen. It was reported that wildcat well 6507/8-9 was drilled to a vertical depth of over 7,716 ft below the surface of the sea, and encountered a gas column of more than 262 ft in the Åre formation in the Båt Group. According to Statoil, the well’s primary exploration target was to prove petroleum in the Middle or Lower Jurassic reservoir rocks. This reportedly was the eighth exploration well to be drilled in PL 124. The discovery, which has been estimated between 0.7 and 1.2 Bscm of recoverable gas, will likely be tied in to the existing infrastructure of Heidrun field.

BP reports significant discovery in New Mexico’s Mancos shale

In New Mexico’s Mancos shale play, BP has uncovered a significant new source of natural gas. The well was drilled with a 10,000-ft lateral in the Northeast Blanco Unit (NEBU). The company’s well, NEBU 602 Com 1H, is situated in San Juan County and has reportedly achieved an average 30-day initial production rate of 12.9 MMcfgd. According to BP, this is the highest early production rate recorded in the San Juan basin in 14 years. It was reported that the successful well test took place on assets that the company had acquired in late 2015. Dave Lawler, CEO of BP’s U.S. Lower 48, said, “This result supports our strategic view that significant resource potential exists in the San Juan basin, and gives us confidence to pursue additional development of the Mancos shale, which we believe could become one of the leading shale plays in the U.S.” Photo: BP.

Talos Energy, JV partners report significant oil discovery offshore Mexico

Talos Energy (operator, 35%)—with JV partners Premier Oil (25%) and Sierra Oil and Gas (40%)—has discovered a significant oil accumulation offshore Mexico. The Zama-1 well, which is situated in 546 ft of water, is approximately 37 mi from the Port of Dos Bocas. It reached an initial shallow target vertical depth of about 11,100 ft and encountered a contiguous gross oil bearing interval of more than 1,100 ft, with 558 ft to 656 ft of net oil pay in Upper Miocene sandstones. It reportedly is the first offshore exploration well to be drilled by the private sector in Mexico’s history. According to Talos Energy, the well’s initial gross oil in place estimates range from 1.4 Bbbl to 2 Bbbl, which exceeds pre-drill estimates. Tim Duncan, Talos’ president and CEO, said, “We believe this discovery represents exactly what the energy reforms intended to deliver: new capital, new participants and a spirit of ingenuity that leads to local jobs and government revenues for Mexico.”

Business/Regulatory

Total acquires Maersk through a $7.45-billion share and debt transaction

Total has announced its purchase of the E&P company, Maersk Oil & Gas. Total reportedly will pay Maersk with $4.95 billion of its own shares, and will assume $2.5 billion in debt. According to a Total press release, the acquisition offers “an exceptional overlap of upstream businesses globally, which will enhance [its] competitiveness and value in many core areas.” Following the transaction, Total will acquire approximately 1 Bboe of 2P/2C reserves, more than 80% of which are in the North Sea. Total chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanné said, “This transaction is immediately accretive to both cash flow and earnings per share, and delivers further growth over coming years. It is in line with our announced strategy to take advantage of the current market conditions, and of our stronger balance sheet, to add new resources at attractive conditions.” Pouyanné went on to say that, with this acquisition, Total is on track to become a 3-MMboed major by 2019.

Federal regulatory process begins for $888-million LNG facility at Port Fourchon

Fourchon LNG LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Greater Lafourche Port Commission (GLPC) and Energy World USA, has formally filed its request for the initiation of the pre-filing review process with the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Following the pre-filing process, Fourchon LNG reportedly will apply for authorization to build its proposed 5-million-tons-per-annum, mid-scale LNG production and export facility at Port Fourchon. Upon completion of the facility, Phase 1 of the Fourchon LNG project will produce 2 million tons of LNG for export every year. Phase 2 of the project will see capacity increase to 5 million tons. Additionally, Fourchon LNG has reported plans to keep up to half a million tons of LNG in reserve for domestic use each year, as it intends to help power offshore supply vessels operating in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The proposed facility, which represents an investment of approximately $888 million for Phase 1, is expected to be built west of Belle Pass, on a 150-acre plot of port-owned property. This reportedly makes it the largest, single initial investment in the history of Port Fourchon and Lafourche Parish. GLPC Board President Perry Gisclair said, "Our community has been dealing with an economic downturn for a few years now, so we are excited for the opportunities that this project will provide, by bringing hundreds of jobs during the construction phase, and dozens of good-paying permanent jobs once the facility is operational." Photo: Energy World USA.

EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION

Lundin Norway spuds exploration well on Børselv prospect in the Barents Sea

Lundin Norway has begun drilling exploration well 7220/6-3, which is situated in PL 609 on the Loppa High in the southern Barents Sea. It is being drilled on the Børselv prospect, north of the Alta and Neiden oil discoveries. The Børselv prospect reportedly contains an estimated 244 MMboe of gross unrisked prospective resources. According to Lundin, well 7220/6-3 is being drilled to test the reservoir properties and hydrocarbon potential of Permian-Carboniferous carbonate reservoirs. The well is being drilled by the semisubmersible rig Leiv Eiriksson. Lundin Norway is operator of PL 609 and holds a 40% working interest, while DEA Norge AS and Idemitsu Petroleum Norge AS hold a respective 30% working interest.

Faroe Petroleum spuds exploration well on Goanna prospect in the North Sea

Faroe Petroleum has spudded the Goanna exploration well 39/9-22 S in PL 881, in the northern portion of the Norwegian North Sea. The well is situated near the UK border—adjacent to Statfjord and Snorre fields—straddling the boundary between PL 881 and PL 037. The semisubmersible rig, Deepsea Bergen, will be used to drill the well which, according to the company, will target a structural and stratigraphic prospect of Upper Jurassic Munin Formation sandstones. Faroe Petroleum holds a 30% interest in PL 881.

Total announces start-up of Edradour and Glenlivet fields, West of Shetland

Total has announced the start-up of production at Edradour and Glenlivet gas and condensate fields, West of Shetland. The fields reportedly are situated in approximately 984 ft to 1,427 ft of water. The field development consists of a nearly 22-mi tie-back of three subsea wells to the existing Laggan-Tormore production system. According to Total, which operates the fields with a 60% interest, start-up of the field developments are expected to produce an additional production capacity of up to 56,000 boed. Total’s partners include DONG E&P and SSE E&P UK, each with a 20% interest.