Offshore staff
EDINBURGH, UK -- Cairn Energy says the semisubmersible Cajun Express has re-entered SNE-1, the second deepwater well in its exploration program offshore Senegal. The top hole was drilled earlier this year.
SNE-1 will target stacked Cretaceous clastics and deeper karstified and fractured lower Cretaceous shelf carbonates in 1,100 m (3,609 ft) water depth. The upper clastic objective is of similar age to oil-bearing sands in multiple deepwater fans in the recent FAN-1 discovery.
Cairn combined resources at the two SNE-1 objectives at 438 MMbbl. Drilling should be completed by year-end.
As for FAN-1, evaluation is under way to calibrate the well with 3D seismic to determine future steps and potential locations for follow-up wells during 2015 onward.
To the north off Morocco, the Kosmos-led partnership plan to drill the CB-1 exploratory well in the offshore Cap Boujdour permit in December.
Cairn says Kosmos has identified numerous plays and prospects based on 3D data, of which CB-1 is the largest. Acquisition has been completed of 5,100 sq km (1,969 sq mi) of new 3D seismic over the southern part of the block and this will be analyzed over the coming months.
In the North Sea, Cairn expects to participate in two exploration wells. One, operated by EnQuest, should spud later this year on the West of Kraken prospect in the UK northern North Sea. The other, operated by Wintershall, will target the Crossbill structure in the Norwegian sector and should spud during 1Q 2015.
Cairn has applied to become pre-qualified as an operator on the Norwegian shelf, and is evaluating potential acreage in the Barents Sea for possible applications in the country’s 23rd license round. It plans to draw on its Arctic operational experience from its exploration wells offshore Greenland.
10/30/2014
