Offshore staff
ABERDEEN, UK – Faroe Petroleum has been awarded a new prospecting license by the Faroe Island government.
The company has already started its work program and will perform extensive technical analysis and screening, with the aim of identifying new exploration prospects.
Faroe participated in the islands’ first offshore licensing round in 2000, winning shares in two permits with Eni.
In recent years the main favored play has been large sub-basalt structures, a strategy Statoil and ExxonMobil are pursuing for their planned deepwater well this year on the Brugdan Deep prospect.
Faroe says it has built up its own unique geological and geophysical data base in the region, and has now secured access to the database of Jarðfeingi, the Faroese Oil & Gas Authority.
In adjacent UK waters west of Shetland, Faroe operates license P1853 containing the potentially giant Grouse structural prospect on the North Corona Ridge, in what the company labels “an exciting new exploration play” above the basalt layers. Faroe plans to commission an electromagnetic survey to reduce risks ahead of a drilling decision.
Farther south in a relatively unexplored play west of BP’s Clair field, Faroe operates P1839 which includes the Aileen prospect, another potential drilling candidate. The nearby Edradour discovery drilled by Total in 2010 is in a similar geological play.
Faroe is a partner in the Glenlivet discovery, where planning is under way for concept selection and submission of a field development plan. Glenlivet could be tied into the new west of Shetland gas gathering pipeline system that Total is installing for the Laggan and Tormore gas field development.
The company is also a participant in the Tornado discovery, which has gas and an oil rim in a good-quality reservoir. Due to its location in deeper water, and being further offshore than Glenlivet, timing of this development project will likely coincide with the installation of new gas infrastructure in the area.
Also in the Southern Gas basin, the operator of the Orca field (Faroe 3.2%) has submitted a FDP and first gas is expected in 2014.
In the northern Norwegian North Sea, Faroe is a partner in the Statoil-operated Brage field which came onstream in 1993. Here output was above expectations last year due to strong performance of new infill wells. Drilling will continue in 2012, supported by a new 4D seismic survey to firm up further in‐fill well targets.
The same applies to ExxonMobil’s Ringhorne East (Faroe 7.8%) area, in the center of the Norwegian North Sea, which started production in 2006. Two new infill wells are planned this year to generate new production capacity, supported by recently acquired 4D seismic.
3/27/2012
