EUROPE

Norway’s petroleum minister opens Valemon Field

The Valemon gas and condensate field in the North Sea was opened by Tord Lien, Norway’s petroleum and energy minister, Statoil ASA said. Valemon is a new project on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The field has an HP/HT reservoir. Expected recoverable reserves are 192 MMboe. Condensate from Valemon will be piped to Kvitebjørn for processing and then forwarded to Mongstad, while the gas will be transported to Heimdal for processing and then sent to the market. Heimdal was scheduled to be shut down last year, but Valemon is extending its life as a gas hub.

Wintershall Norge wildcat proves oil near Kristin Field

Wintershall Norge AS, operator of production license 589, will finish drilling wildcat well 6406/2-8, which proved oil south of the Kristin Field, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate said. The field in the Norwegian Sea is 190 km (118 miles) northwest of Kristiansund. Well 6406/2-8 targeted Lower to Middle Jurassic reservoir petroleum in the Båt and Fangst groups. The well hit two oil columns at a 130-m (427-ft) interval in these groups in poor-quality sandstone. The discovery area could have between 1 MMcm and 8 MMcm (35 MMcf and 283 MMcf) of recoverable oil equivalents.

SOUTH AMERICA

Petrobras finds fresh oil, gas in Amazon Basin

Petrobras discovered a new oil and gas accumulation in the Amazon Basin, Block AM-T-84. The discovery was made while drilling well 1-BRSA-1293-AM, informally known as Jusante do Anebá. Well drilling reached 2,040 m (6,693 ft) total depth. Preliminary well tests confirmed the presence of light oil (47˚API) and gas in arenaceous reservoirs 1,350 m to 1,900 m (4,429 ft to 6,234 ft) deep. Petrobras operates the concession with a 60% interest in partnership with Petrogal Brasil, which has a 40% interest. The consortium will proceed with activities to evaluate the oil- and gas-bearing reservoirs.

Petrobras makes Espírito Santo oil discovery

Petrobras discovered oil in the Espírito Santo Basin onshore Brazil. The wildcat well 1-BRSA-1302-ES, known as Guayacan, found oil in reservoirs 711 m (2,333 ft) deep after well drilling reached 1,312 m (4,304 ft). This well is part of the Tabebuia discovery evaluation plan and is about 120 km (75 miles) from the city of Vitória. Petrobras is the operator and retains 100% of exploratory block ES-T-495. The discovery will be evaluated by formation tests as part of the evaluation plan’s exploratory program.

AFRICA

Repsol hits gas in Algeria

Repsol discovered gas in the Tan Emellel Sud-Ouest-2 (TESO-2) exploration well in the Sud-Est Illizi Block in Algeria. It is the third find in the block in southeast Algeria’s Illizi Basin. In Algeria, Repsol works on the Tin-Fouyé Tabankort project, the Reggane Nord development project, Sud-Est Illizi and Boughezoul. The newest discovery is the continuation of an exploration campaign in the high-potential area. The gas was found at 1,307 m (4,288 ft). Repsol will drill at least four additional wells to appraise the previous discoveries within the block.

Kosmos makes discovery offshore Mauritania

The Tortue-1 exploration well in Block C-8 offshore Mauritania has made a significant play-opening gas discovery, Kosmos Energy said. The well was drilled to test the Tortue West prospect, which forms part of the Greater Tortue Complex. Based on the preliminary analysis of drilling results and intermediate logging to a depth of 4,630 m (15,190 ft), Tortue-1 intersected 107 m (351 ft) of net hydrocarbon pay. A single gas pool was encountered in the primary Lower Cenomanian objective. Kosmos said the Lower Cenomanian is comprised of three excellent-quality multidarcy reservoirs totaling 88 m (288 ft) in thickness over a gross hydrocarbon-bearing interval of 160 m (528 ft). A fourth zone 19 m (62 ft) thick was penetrated within the secondary Upper Cenomanian target over a gross hydrocarbon-bearing interval of 150 m (492 ft).

AUSTRALIA

BP delays Great Australian Bight exploration

BP Plc expects to start drilling an untapped oil frontier off the coast of southern Australia later than it had estimated, citing the potential for a delay in the delivery of the rig. The energy giant plans to begin drilling in late 2016, compared with its initial target of early 2016, BP’s Australian unit said. BP, Chevron Corp., Statoil ASA and Santos Ltd. are among energy companies expected to invest more than $1.6 billion on exploration in the Great Australian Bight.

ASIA-PACIFIC

CNOOC: Kenli oil field starts production

CNOOC Ltd. said that the offshore Kenli 10-1 oil field began production. The field is in 17 m (56 ft) of water in China’s Bohai Bay. Its main production facilities include one central processing platform, two wellhead platforms and 70 producing wells. Currently, 12 wells produce about 10,750 bbl/d of crude oil. The field is expected to reach its peak production of about 36,000 bbl/d in 2016. CNOOC holds full interest in Kenli and is the operator.

Lundin produces first oil from Bertam

Lundin Petroleum subsidiary Lundin Malaysia has achieved first oil from the Bertam Field offshore Malaysia. The field began production from four predrilled development wells. The remaining production wells will be drilled sequentially and put onstream through the remainder of 2015, with the field’s gross plateau rate of 15,000 bbl/d of oil expected to be achieved by late 2015. The field is located on Block PM307 offshore the eastern side of Peninsular Malaysia. Lundin Malaysia is the operator with a 75% working interest, and Petronas Carigali is partner with a 25% working interest.

MIDDLE EAST

Inpex, Total will develop UAE onshore deposits

Inpex Corp. has joined Total SA in developing the main onshore oil deposits in the United Arab Emirates as Abu Dhabi calls on new partners for its $22 billion effort to pump crude from its largest fields. Inpex will take a 5% stake in the fields. The concession will give Japan access to crude from the Abu Dhabi deposits for 40 years starting Jan. 1, 2015. Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. picked Inpex from at least 10 bidders to join it and Total in the venture.

Saudi Arabia meets oil export demand

Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, will meet any demand for its crude as the kingdom seeks to keep customers happy and maintain a balanced market, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, the deputy oil minister, said. Saudi Arabia raised output to 10.1 MMbbl/d in March, near an all-time peak, the International Energy Agency reported April 15. “Saudi Arabia responds to demand in the market,” the prince said. “We will provide oil to whomever asks for it.”

RUSSIA CIS

Dragon Oil increases Turkmenistan oil production

Dragon Oil Plc produced 23% more oil in Turkmenistan in first-quarter 2015 than in first-quarter 2014, the company said. Average gross production in the Cheleken contract area was about 88,700 bbl/d in first-quarter 2015. This was a 23% increase over the corresponding 2014 level. March production in the contract area averaged 89,600 bbl/d, and April production averaged about 93 Mbbl/d.

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