GLOBAL E&P

Location of Hebron, the next mega-field development off Newfoundland.

Closer to the Newfoundland coast, Enegi Oil has reached agreement with Dragon Lance Management Corp. to co-develop a regional play around the Port au Port peninsula. Plans include at least one well to test the offshore Aguathuna formation containing the Shoal Point prospect.

Northern Europe

GDF Suez has proven gas in what may be a new play in deep-lying Permian reservoirs in the Dutch North Sea. The L5-12 well, drilled by the jackupNoble Ronald Hoope, tested at a flow rate of 1.2 MMcm/d (42.38 MMcf/d) at a TD of 5,450 m (17,880 ft). The company believes the static reservoir pressure of 1,023 bar (14,837 psi) and temperature of 183°C (361°F) have both established new Dutch records.

In the “F” quadrant, Heerema has delivered a “self-installing” platform to the Centrica-operated F3-FA gas field development, 240 km (149 mi) north of Den Helder in a water depth of 40 m (131 ft). The platform, built at Heerema’s yard in Vlissingen, is 133 m (436 ft) high, including its 75-m (246-ft) long legs, with a total weight of 8,800 metric tons (9,700 tons). It is designed to be re-used on another field or fields following depletion of F3-FA.

BG Norge has contracted Wood Group Kenny for FEED and related project management services for the Jordbaer development in the North Tampen region of the Norwegian North Sea. The proposed scheme involves an FPSO with two drill centers in a water depth of 410 m (1,345 ft), with gas sent to shore through an existing pipeline. Wood Group Kenny’s scope covers control systems, risers, umbilicals, and the export system.

South America

Petroleos de Venezuela Socialista (recently renamed by Venezuela’s president Hugo Chavez) has brought in the drilling rigSonga Saturn to continue development work on the Gran Mariscal Sucre project offshore Sucre state. Work on the Dragon, Patao, Mejillones, and Rio Caribe gas field wells had to be suspended in May following the sinking of the Aban Pearl rig.

In the Tia Juana area of Lake Maracaibo, the company had to implement emergency oil spill recovery measures last month when a 3-km (1.8-mi) section of 20-in. (51-cm) pipe on the seabed was displaced, following a reported act of sabotage.

•••

Peru’s government has extended BPZ Resources’ extended well testing and gas flaring permits for the Corvina field CX11-17D well in offshore block Z-1. This should allow BPZ to maintain the well test through end-November, after which Corvina is due to enter commercial production.

Diamond Offshore’sOcean Guardian has returned to Rockhopper Exploration’s Sea Lion discovery in the North Falkland basin to perform a flow test. Earlier, the rig plugged and abandoned Rockhopper’s Ernest 26/6-1 well, 120 km (74 mi) away, as a dry hole. Falklands Oil & Gas, which used the same rig earlier this year on its dry Toroa prospect in the East Falklands basin, is scouting for a higher-spec rig to drill its deeper water licenses.

West Africa

Chevron has won operatorship of three deepwater concessions off Liberia. Blocks LB-11, LB-12 and LB-14 cover a total area of 3,700 sq mi (9,600 sq km), around 12-110 mi (20-180 km) south of the capital Monrovia. Chevron planned to start its exploration program this fall on the licenses, which it says are on trend with recent deepwater Cretaceous discoveries in the region.

UK independent Bowleven has completed drillstem tests on its latest appraisal well, IE-3, on the Etunde permit offshore Cameroon. The program was designed to delineate the extent and communication of the Upper Isongo reservoir updip of previous wells on the field. The tests flowed varying degrees of oil, gas, and condensate, suggesting the basis of a commercial development. Bowleven has since spudded the Sapele-1 well elsewhere in the permit to further assess the potential of the Douala basin.

Black Sea

GSP Offshore has mated the topsides and jacket for TPAO’s new Akcakoca gas platform in the Turkish sector. GSP’s heavy-lift bargeGSP Bigfoot 2 transported the two-deck topsides to the field in the northwest of the Black Sea, with installation managed by the heavy-lift crane vessel GSP Neptun. The GSP Bigfoot 2 was due to transfer to the Bulgarian sector last month to lay two pipelines for Melrose Resources between the Kavarna and Kaliakra fields and the Galata platform, in an average water depth of 80 m (262 ft).

Mediterranean Sea

ADX Energy has discovered hydrocarbons in its Lambouka-1 well offshore Tunisia. Two productive zones were encountered in the Abiod formation, which lab analysis suggests comprise gas and possibly condensate in the lower interval. The company has interpreted net pay of 23 m (75 ft) in the two reservoir units. Seismic analysis indicates further potential updip from the crest of the structure to the well location.

Noble Energy may spud Israel’s deepest offshore well to date next month, according to partner Delek Group. TheSedco Express has been lined up to drill two prospects at Lower Oligocene and Lower Cretaceous levels in the Leviathan prospect on the Rachel license. The location is 135 km (84 mi) west of Haifa, in a water depth of 1,634 m (5,361 ft). Noble’s main objective is a gas target called NG10, with prospective resources of 16 tcf (453 bcm).

Another consortium is aiming to spud a well next summer in slightly shallower water on either the Myra or Sara permit, 35 km (21.7 mi) from Noble’s Tamar gas find. Partner Adira Energy says reports will be submitted on prospects in the two concessions, with well plans set to be finalized by year-end.

Middle East

Circle Oil has contracted BGP Oil & Gas for a seismic survey late this year on block 52 offshore Oman. TheBGP Challenger will acquire 5,000 km (3,107 mi) of data, designed to help Circle firm up its exploratory prospects in the block.

•••

Maersk Oil Qatar has taken the TI-Africa ownedFSO Africa on a three-year contract to support its ongoing Al Shaheen offshore development. TI – a joint venture between Euronav and OSG – claims that this and sister vessel FSO Asia are the world’s largest double-hulled FSOs.

East Africa

Anadarko has found oil in the deepwater Ironclad structure offshore Mozambique, following its earlier Windjammer gas discovery 110 km (68 mi) to the north. TheBelford Dolphin drilled the latest well, which was designed to investigate a Cretaceous fan complex with two lobes. The well penetrated 38 m (124 ft) net of oil and gas-saturated sands in the upper fan lobe, with substantial gas shows. Next up for the rig was a well on the Barquentine prospect, east of Windjammer.

India

Reliance Industries has struck gas for the fourth time in the same deepwater block in the Krishna Godavari basin. The Dhirubhai-52 well in the D3 license encountered a 37.5-m (123-ft) pay zone in Pliocene sands, in a water depth of 1,653 m (5,423 ft).

Partner Hardy Oil & Gas is also looking to re-develop the PY-3 oil field in the Cauvery basin, 80 km (49.7 mi) south of Pondicherry, which is currently produces 3,400 b/d following a prolonged shut-down for repairs. The new scheme could involve adding two further lateral production wells and upgrading the facilities on the floating production facilityTahara to include gas compression.

Australia

Sea Trucks and Svitzer Salvage Australasia have started work on removal of the abandoned jackupWest Atlas. The rig, stationed next to the Montara wellhead platform in the Timor Sea, suffered damage last year during a blowout of one the field’s wells and a subsequent fire. The new multi-purpose construction vessel Jascon 25 is supporting clean-up and removal work, which will be followed by jacking down and tow-out of the rig to Singapore.

Jascon 25 en route to Darwin to assist removal of the jackupWest Atlas.

BHP Billiton has produced first oil from the Ravensworth field off Western Australia, which straddles two licenses in 210 m (689 ft) of water, 45 km (28 mi) from the port of Exmouth. The section of the field in the WA-43-L permit has been developed in tandem with the BHP-operated Pyrenees project, with produced oil processed via an FPSO owned by the partners in the adjoining WA-42-L concession.

Woodside Energy has managed two gas discoveries in quick succession in Western Australia’s Greater Carnarvon basin. The Alaric-1 well in permit WA-434-P found liquids-rich gas in several targeted Triassic zones close to Woodside’s Claudius hub. And Larsen Deep-1 also intersected gas in Triassic zones, around 9 km (5.6 mi) from the company’s Central hub Martell-1, Noblige-1, and Larsen-1 finds.

Asia-Pacific

Petronas Carigali has contracted Aker Process Systems for subsea equipment for its Kanowit field development offshore Bintulu, Sarawak. Aker will supply a subsea production system and 5,600 m (18,372 ft) of umbilicals, the latter manufactured in Moss, Norway. These will be used to link the subsea wells to the Kumang Cluster. The entire program involves three new platforms on three fields, designed to supply gas to the MLNG-2 terminal in Bintulu.

Also in Malaysia, Petronas subsidiaries MISC Berhad and Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Berhad are teaming with Technip to work jointly on offshore and onshore projects in the Asia-Pacific region. The initial focus will be on designing and building platforms.

•••

Hoang Long Joint Operating Co. has had success appraising its Te Giac Den discovery in the Cuu Long basin off southern Vietnam. Well TGD-2X in block 16-1 encountered hydrocarbons in a clastic sequence at a measured depth of 4,450 m (14,600 ft), and went on to penetrate another targeted zone in the Oligocene “E” formation.

CNOOC and the Beibu Gulf joint venture partners have rubber-stamped a Supplemental Development Agreement, concerning the WZ 6-12 and WZ 12-8 West fields offshore China. This outlines commercial terms that were agreed in May. CNOOC will take a 51% operating stake in the project, which will employ existing facilities to handle production from the two fields. The partners will submit an overall development to the Chinese government once further formalities have been completed, with a view to achieving first oil in 2012.