Nigeria: Two more hits in deepwater
Results of two recently completed wells in the deepwater Niger Delta, off Nigeria have confirmed the huge prospectivity of that patch of the West African fairway and boosted the value of the play.
Three weeks after TotalFinalElf reported that Akpo 1 flowed 9,000 b/d of oil during a drilling stem test of two zones in Akpo (OPL 246), Texaco released partial results of Ikija-1, 20 km to the west and confirmed rumors of a huge discovery. Texaco said that Ikija-1 channeled 240 ft net oil in multiple zones between 11,500-15,750 ft adding that the well is the deepest in the deepwater Niger Delta, both in terms of water depth (6,066 ft) and total depth (17,500 ft).
Expectedly, neither company speculated the expected volume of reserves, as these are merely exploratory wells. But industry sources familiar with the geology of the deepwater argue that none of them could be less than 500 million bbl. The Akpo 1 structure is a large four-way anticline that is strongly rumored to contain excess of 1 billion bbl. There are no details of API gravity for Akpo-1, but the company emphasizes that the partners (including indigenous company south Atlantic Petroleum SAP-6%, Braspetro-16%, and TotalFinaElf-24%) are working on spudding an appraisal well before the end of the year.
Westward in Ikija, Texaco is vague about future plans for Ikija-1. "We will incorporate the results into further geological and engineering studies to determine Ikija's commercial potential," according to Bruce S. Appelbaum, Vice President of Texaco Inc. and President of Texaco Exploration. He said that the Ikija wildcat "continues to advance Texaco's deepwater exploration program in Nigeria. We are encouraged by the preliminary results of this well and, while Ikija encompasses a different structure than Agbami, the two are in close proximity, which will be a factor as we continue to evaluate Ikija's commercial potential." Famfa, an independent Nigerian oil company, is operator of Ikija-1, with Texaco's wholly owned subsidiary, Star Deep Water Petroleum Ltd. serving as technical advisor.
Angola: TotalFinaElf stays busy in Block 17
Even as work is going on regarding the development of Girassol, its flagship deepwater field in Angola, the French super major TotalFinaElf sidetracked the development well Dalia-5a in Block 17 and was drilling at 3,410 meters (11,188 ft) at the end of May.
Elsewhere in the prolific lease, the company commenced a 700 sq km 3D survey in the Rosa/Lirio area with the seismic vessel S/V Fohn. TotalFinaElf also re-entered Jacinto -1 with the drillship Pride Angola to complete drilling.
Reports indicate that Perpetua 1, a prospect located in the eastern part of the block, may have been spudded early in June while Auguria 1, located in the central part of the block, is scheduled for late 2000.
TotalFinaElf is preparing for follow-up location to appraise the results of in Andromeda-1 (Mer Tres Profonde Sud) offshore in the ultra-deepwater off Congo, after testing 7000 b/d in an unnamed number of reservoirs. Andromeda -1 was suspended in April with the semi Stena Tay at 4,420 meters (14,501ft). The well is tight. TotalFinaElf is 40% operator of the Mer Tres Profonde Sud lease with partners Agip (30%) and Exxon Mobil (30%).
Elsewhere in the deepwater off Congo, the same rig, Stena Tay, plugged and abandoned Pounda Marine 1 at 3,250 meters for TotalFinaElf in the Mer Profonde Sud. The company has been operating this 3,540 sq km lease since 1996 with 40% and the current partners include ExxonMobil (30%), Shell (15%), and Chevron (15%). The license has been extended until September 2000.
Nigeria: Allied Energy still searching
Eighteen months after breaking up with Statoil over interpretation of data on the discovery well Oyo-1, Allied Energy is still searching for a farm-in partner for OPL 210. At issue is the possible development of the Oyo discovery. A number of unnamed US firms have been talking to this indigenous Nigerian company, who happens to be the first to spud a deepwater well off Nigeria.
One major point of disagreement with Statoil - and possibly any potential farm-in partner - is the size of reserves of the Oyo trap. Allied Energy insists the mean reserves of the structure are 150-200 million bbl of 38-41° API oil. Statoil's figures are more conservative and hover around 50 to 100 million bbl, a size which they consider non-economic at the 350 meter water depth. Allied Energy holds the lease with 97.5% with Camac Incorporated of Houston having the remaining 2.5%
Nigeria: unitization drags for Amenam/Kpono
It is still a long way from finalizing the process of unitization of the straddle fields Amenam (in TotalFinaElf's OML 99) and Kpono (in ExxonMobil's OML 70) in shallow water southeast offshore Niger Delta, the most prolific zone of the basin. The slow pace is typical of unitized fields in Nigeria, where oil industry regulators, including the state owned oil company NNPC and the monitoring authority, the Department of Petroleum Resources, often introduce bureaucratic delays. There has not been a unitization agreement signed in Nigeria, even though at least 40 structures have been identified as straddling leases, and companies have been producing from the same structures in adjoining leases for years. Negotiations on what may be the first unitized field, the BelemaNorth/Belema Field belonging to Chevron/Shell has dragged for nine years.
Amenam/Kpono has been on the negotiating table for five years. The field is estimated to hold in excess of 700 million bbl of oil. Tentatively, production is to start in 2003 with TotalFinaElf as operator. The production will peak at 125,000 b/d and will be piped 30 km to TotalFinaElf's Odudu FPSO in OML 100.
ExxonMobil notches 18th deepwater strike
ExxonMobil subsidiary, Esso, also made a discovery on Block 15 offshore Angola. The new discovery, Mondo, marks the seventh oil find in the company's Block 15. Mondo was drilled in 2,400 ft water depth to a TD of 8,200 ft, 230 miles northwest of Luanda. The well tested 4,200 b/d of oil. This is the 18th deepwater discovery ExxonMobil has participated in off west Africa.
Esso and Sonangol have previously ann-ounced six Block 15 discoveries over the course of the last two years. In 1998 the company notched the Hungo, Kissanje, Marimba, and Dikanza discoveries, and the Chocalho and Xicomba discoveries in 1999. Esso holds 40% in the block with BP (26.67%), Agip (20%), and Statoil (13.33%).
