E&P Highlights: Aug. 26, 2024

From PakEnergy acquiring Plow Technologies to BP awarding contracts for its Kaskida project, below is a compilation of the latest headlines in the E&P space.

Activity headlines

Ovintiv considers divesting from Uinta Basin

Ovintiv is considering a possible sale of its operations in the Uinta Basin and is working with an adviser to gauge buyer interest in the asset, Bloomberg reported Aug. 21.

Selling its Utah assets, which could fetch as much as $2 billion, would allow the company to focus on the Permian Basin assets it acquired last year in a $4.3 billion deal with EnCap Investments.

Oil production in Utah has jumped 40% since the end of 2022, and the divestiture could attract private equity-backed energy groups, Bloomberg said. Discussions are at a preliminary stage and face uncertainty due to increased scrutiny from the Federal Trade Commission. It’s also unclear if a definitive sale agreement can be made as a result of the scrutiny.

Drilling operations begin for the Anchois project offshore Morocco

The Stena Forth drillship has arrived on location and drilling operations have begun at the Anchois-3 well offshore Morocco, Chariot Energy announced Aug. 20.

Located in the Lixus Offshore License, Anchois-3’s drilling and flow testing are expected to take approximately two months, with Chariot expected to fully cover the anticipated costs of the drilling campaign.

“We are very pleased to commence this highly anticipated well at the Anchois gas field. We see significant upside potential and value from the prospective resources in the pilot hole and main hole targets, which could increase the resource base to over 1 Tcf and we look forward, on success, to moving towards a final investment decision as quickly as possible,” Adonis Pouroulis, CEO of Chariot, said in press release.

Energean operates the license with a 45% stake. Chariot holds 30%, while ONHYM holds the remaining 25%.

Ghana begins construction of $12 billion petroleum hub

Ghana’s state-owned Petroleum Hub Development Corp. has officially broken ground on the first phase of a 300,000-bbl/d oil refinery, as it looks to become a major petroleum producer in West Africa. The project will be developed in three phases, with the first phase set to cost $12 billion.

Each of the project’s three phases will include a new refinery. Once completed, the hub will have an overall crude oil processing capacity of at least 900,000 bbl/d spread across three new refineries. Each refinery may be expanded to 500,000 bbl/d for an overall processing capacity of 1.5 MMbbl/d.

In addition to the refinery, Phase 1 will also involve construction of a 90,000-bbl/d petrochemical plant, storage tanks with a total capacity of 3 MM cu. m and jetty and marine port infrastructure. After construction of the hub’s first petrochemical plant in Phase 1, Phases 2 and 3 will add two new plants each. The hub ultimately will include five multi-purpose petrochemical plants, each with a capacity to produce 90,000 bbl/d of chemicals, as well as fertilizers, lubricants and cosmetics.

Ghana hopes the petroleum hub will produce enough refined products to supply the whole of West Africa and move the region away from imports completely by 2036. The nation currently produces 132,000 bbl/d of crude oil, having achieved first production in 2010.

Contracts and company news

PakEnergy acquires Plow Technologies

Digital solutions provider PakEnergy acquired Plow Technologies, a leading provider of digital automation and creator of OnPing, an innovative cloud SCADA platform for oilfield applications, PakEnergy said on Aug. 20.

Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

OnPing simplifies the creation and management of automation systems and ensures reliability, accessibility and integration with various devices and systems, according to a press release. With features like drag-and-drop configuration, real-time polling and mobile accessibility, OnPing helps users monitor, manage and control their operations from anywhere.

The acquisition further strengthens PakEnergy’s comprehensive software suite and enhances the company’s ability to provide end-to-end systems that automate the flow of information from the oilfield to the back office and between partners, owners and investors.

Audubon awarded EPC contract for BP’s Kaskida

Audubon, a leading provider of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) solutions, has been awarded a contract for BP’s Kaskida project in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, the company announced Aug. 20.

Audubon, who most recently worked on the Delta House, King’s Quay and Shenandoah semisubmersibles, will complete topside engineering and design of the Kaskida floating production unit (FPU).

Engineering work for the Kaskida FPU has already begun, with Audubon designing the topside and Exmar Offshore designing the hull.

Sentinel subsea installs WellSentinel on two major projects in Australia

Sentinel Subsea installed its passive subsea monitoring system, WellSentinel, on two significant projects offshore Australia.

Announced Aug. 21, Sentinel Subsea was selected by a major client to support the decommissioning of subsea assets in collaboration with Baker Hughes. As part of the decomissioning, the companies will install two WellSentinel Coral systems on two wellheads, enabling the continuous monitoring of temporary suspended wells in the remote field.

In another project, Sentinel Subsea successfully deployed two WellSentinel Coral-Frond Hybrid systems for a major client. These systems, designed to monitor two suspended wells, feature a Coral design enhanced with a Frond-type gathering structure. The enhancement allows for monitoring an area approximately 5 m outside of the wellhead.

EnerMech secures two major pre-commissioning contracts offshore Malaysia

EnerMech has been awarded two significant pipeline pre-commissioning contracts offshore East Malaysia, the company announced Aug. 20.

These contracts have been secured with two tier-one contractor clients, both of which are supporting the same multinational operator’s developments in the region.

The first scope of work involves pre-commissioning operations in 1,300 m in deep water, with the second scope taking place in shallow waters. EnerMech will carry out a range of services for both clients including flooding, cleaning, gauging and testing, dewatering and nitrogen packing of subsea umbilicals, risers and flowlines.

North Star invests $6.5MM in digital transformation

North Star, the U.K.’s leading offshore infrastructure support vessel operator and service provider, has invested more than US$6.5 million in new business support software systems, the company said Aug. 20.

North Star’s new digital solutions include an investment in the ShipSure software platform, the industry’s leading enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution and a strategic partnership with VesselMan to enhance its project management toolkit. ShipSure, a cloud-based ship management ERP, allows the maritime company to streamline processes and analyze data to improve performance across all elements of the business. ShipSure and VesselMan are also fully integrated, allowing seamless exchange of work order defects and status updates on purchase orders between the systems.

North Star also implemented satellite communications from SpaceX’s Starlink across all ships to provide high-speed internet access between its vessels and the shore. Starlink’s low-latency rate supports vessel operational technologies with the ability to troubleshoot problems using virtual calls and video.