Tracy Dulle - Houston
Gulf of Mexico
Well SL10320 No. 4 (well No. 3) on the Pompano field in the Gulf of Mexico has been spudded, according to Elixir Petroleum.
Layout of Pompano.
The 36-in. (91-cm) caisson has been driven to depth successfully and the 20-in. (51-cm) and 13 ½-in. (34-cm) hole sections have been drilled to planned depth, cased, and cemented to surface, the company says.
The rig is preparing to drill the 9 7/8-in. (25-cm) hole directionally from 3,005 ft (916 m) to 8,000 ft (2,438 m). It is designed to penetrate a number of the target horizons for the well.
Latin America
The FPSOSevan Piranema has been producing oil for Petrobras for its first full year. The unit is moored on the Petrobras-operated Piranema field, off the coast of Aracaju, in the state of Sergipe, Brazil.
The FPSOSevan Piranema, in the Piranema field off Brazil, has completed its first year of operation.
During the first year of operation, the FPSO has produced 2.9 MMbbl of oil, exported by 14 shuttle tanker cargos. The production uptime during this time has been 97.5% and over 99% since the start of 2008, according to Sevan.
Sevan Piranema is working under an 11 plus 11 year charter contract with Petrobras in ultra deepwater, ranging from 1,000 to 1,600 m (3,281 to 5,249 ft). The FPSO has a nominal oil storage capacity of 300,000 bbl and is equipped with an oil process capacity of 30,000 b/d and a gas compression capacity of 3.6 MMcm/d (127 MMcf/d).
Sevan Piranema is the world’s first cylinder shaped FPSO. It is also the first floating production unit to operate in this area of Brazil.
Anadarko Petroleum has made a pre-salt discovery at the Wahoo prospect offshore Brazil in the Campos basin. The 1-APL-1-ESS well is on block BM-C-30 in approximately 4,650 ft (1,417 m) of water 25 mi (40 km) southeast and syncline separated from Petrobras’ previously announced pre-salt discoveries at the Jubarte field.
Preliminary results at Wahoo, based on wireline logs, indicate at least 195 ft (59 m) of net pay with similar characteristics to the nearby Jubarte 1-ESS-103A well, the company says.
“Our first operated pre-salt test in Brazil is a resounding success as we’re seeing data that mirrors other very significant pre-salt discoveries in this prolific area,” says Bob Daniels, Anadarko Sr. VP of worldwide exploration. “It’s still early in the process, and we plan to continue drilling toward additional targeted objectives to a total depth of approximately 20,000 ft (6,096 m).
“The positive results so far provide encouragement and validate our decision to relocate the drillshipDeepwater Millennium to Brazil to execute our ongoing pre-salt exploration program, which includes at least four additional wells in the deepwater Campos and Espirito Santo basins through the middle of next year.”
The Wahoo well at presstime was drilling at approximately 18,400 ft (5,608 m). In order to fulfill the work program, the company has run a full suite of wireline logs including porosity tools.
Anadarko and its partners plan to conduct additional logging, including pressure and fluid sampling, once the well reaches total depth, with the potential to conduct a drillstem test later. Following operations at Wahoo, Anadarko anticipates moving the vessel to the Serpa prospect on BM-ES-24 to re-enter the prospect where the initial well encountered pre-salt hydrocarbon-bearing zones in secondary objectives and did not reach the primary objective because of rig limitations.
Petrobras has made a second light oil discovery in the Santos basin.
The company confirmed the presence of oil in sandstone reservoirs following the drilling of well 1-BRSA-658-SPS (1-SPS-57) in the south of the Santos basin. The company believes that this find substantiates the good light oil potential in the shallow offshore sections of the basin.
The 1-BRSA-658-SPS well is in the S-M-1289 block, part of the BM-S-40 concession, in which Petrobras holds a 100% interest. The block is about 200 km (124 mi) off the coast of the state of São Paulo in a water depth of 274 m (899 ft). The block is also 9.3 km (5.8 mi) from the first find made there by well 1-SPS-56, in the Tiro pioneering prospect, announced in May of this year.
The reservoirs are of the sandstone type, located at approximately 2,060 m (6,759 ft), and similar to recent finds by well 1-BRSA-607-SPS (1-SPS-56), the company says. Productivity of the reservoirs is to be assessed with immediate effect through a well formation test.
While still at a preliminary stage of evaluation, based on the two wells and anomalies in the seismic data, the company estimates recoverable volumes of oil in this area at approximately 150 MMboe.
North Sea/Europe
Production is under way from the Curlew C development in the North Sea, according to Shell UK. The Curlew C development marks the first time that Shell has produced hydrocarbons from a chalk formation in the North Sea.
Curlew C lies in block 29/7 of the UK Central North Sea, 210 km (130 mi) east-southeast of Aberdeen.
The field was brought onstream via a single new development well tied back to the FPSOMaersk Curlew. Processed oil moves by tanker and gas is exported through the Fulmar gas line to St. Fergus.
Shell holds a 100% interest in the field.
Flow rates from the Topaz appraisal well in the UK southern North Sea have exceeded commercial thresholds, according to RWE Dea (UK). NobleAl White drilled and tested the well.
The planned development will be a single well tieback to the Tullow-operated Schooner field 15 km (9.3 mi) to the northwest and through the CMS gas transportation system to the Theddlethorpe gas terminal. Major contracts have been awarded to Technip for pipelay and tie in, to V&M Tubes UK for linepipe, and to Duco Ltd. Technip for umbilical supply.
A field development plan is anticipated to be submitted to the Department of Energy and Climate Change by year-end. First production is expected in 3Q 2009.
“The Topaz appraisal well was a success and enables us to move quickly to bring the field into production in 2009,” says Thomas Rappuhn, COO of RWE Dea. “Developments such as Topaz demonstrate the value that can be achieved through appraisal drilling when there is good collaboration between field and infrastructure owners.”
Africa
Afren has received the requisite approvals for the development of the Ebok field offshore Nigeria. The company’s forward drilling program has also been confirmed.
Afren and Oriental (the Ebok partners) have secured a contract for the jackupTrident IV and plan to begin appraisal drilling in the fourth quarter. The principal objectives of the program are to establish the areal distribution of the reservoir properties and to acquire the full data suite, in particular fluid samples, which are essential for the Ebok field development planning, the company says.
The Ebok partners plan up to two drillstem tests with full sand control to determine the rate and properties of the oil tested and also plan an extensive wireline logging program.
Based on a successful outcome to the appraisal phase, Afren will submit a field development plan to the Nigerian authorities in 2Q 2009 with a view to begin development operations soon after.
Caspian Sea
Lundin Petroleum’s preliminary estimates indicate gross recoverable resources between 110 and 450 MMbbl of oil in the Lagansky part of the Morskaya structure in the Caspian Sea. Lundin Petroleum’s mid-case estimate is 230 MMbbl of oil. Approximately 50% of the Morskaya structure is in the Lagansky block and therefore the mid-case estimate of the size of the discovery is close to 500 MMbbl of oil, the company says.
Further appraisal drilling will be needed to assess the full extent of the hydrocarbon reservoirs across such a large structure, the company says. Drilling of the first appraisal well on the Morskaya structure is scheduled for 2009 and acquisition of 3D seismic has started.
The Lagansky block contains significant additional prospectivity and the Marine Drilling Complex (MDC) currently is drilling the Laganskaya-1 well southwest from Morskaya. The Petrovskaya-1 exploration well will be drilled in 2009.
KazMunayGas (KMG), ConocoPhillips, and Mubadala Development Co. have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to negotiate terms for the exploration and development of the N block, offshore Kazakhstan, under a new subsoil use contract.
The parties now have until Dec. 31 to negotiate the definitive agreements for the assignment by KMG of a 49% interest in the subsoil use contract to be shared equally between ConocoPhillips and Mubadala. KMG will remain the majority partner.
The N block is 30 km (18.6 mi) south-southwest offshore Aktau, Kazakhstan, in the Caspian Sea. The block covers approximately 8,100 sq km (3,127 sq mi) and is considered highly prospective for both oil and gas.
Asia
Production has begun from the Galoc 3 well on the Galoc field off the Philippines, according to Otto Energy.
Once production has stabilized following flow testing, which will begin over the coming weeks, production is expected to reach about 20,000 b/d of oil from the two wells. The company expects average production of about 17,000 b/d of oil over the remainder of this year.
The reserves estimate in Galoc is 10 MMbbl of oil based on an assessment in 2006 for a two-well development, the company says. During the initial six months of production, the company will assess the field’s ultimate potential with a view to further development.
See related story on page 50.
CNOOC has made a new discovery at Bozhong (BZ) 35-2 in the Yellow River Mouth Sag offshore China. The well was drilled to 3,235 m (10,614 ft) TD in 20 m (66 ft) of water and penetrated oil pay zones with total thickness of 31.2 m (102 ft).
During a drillstem test, the well flow tested at an average rate of 560 b/d of oil and approximately 32,000 cf/d of gas on 7.94-mm (0.313-in.) and 9.53 mm (24/64-in.) chokes.
Red Sea
The government of Eritrea has signed two agreements with Defba Oil Share Co. for oil exploration activities in two blocks of the Eritrean northern territorial waters in the Red Sea.
Defba Oil Share Co. has been set up through the partnership of the Eritrean government and Energy Alliance Co. WLL.
Australia
The Angel project, a newly installed addition to the North West Shelf Joint Venture (NWS), is operational now and is producing natural gas and condensate, according to BHP Billiton. Angel will add capacity to the NWS of up to 800 MMcf/d of gas and up to 50,000 b/d of condensate.
The Angel project is approximately 115 km (71 mi) offshore Western Australia and consists of a new platform and associated infrastructure, including a 50 km (31 mi) subsea pipeline tied back to the existing North Rankin A platform. The Angel platform stands in about 80 m (262 ft) of water and hosts three subsea production wells. The additional gas volumes will underpin the NWS’ five trains of LNG production.
