SOUTH AMERICA

Shell kicks off French Guiana appraisal drilling

Shell has started appraisal drilling on the deepwater Zaedyus oil discovery offshore South America’s French Guiana using the Stena Drillmax ICE drillship. Minority partner Northern Petroleum said the drillship began drilling well GM-ES-2, the second well in the Guyane Maritime permit, in July. The GM-ES-2 appraisal well follows the initial Zaedyus discovery made late last year, which encountered 72 m (236 ft) of net oil pay in two turbidite sand systems. The operator plans to drill an additional wildcat well, while two large 3-D seismic shoots also are planned in the surrounding area on either side of the Cingulata fan system. The shoot will cover 620 sq km (239 sq miles) over the Cebus lead to the south, followed by a 4,700-sq-km (1,815-sq-mile) program to the north.

Falkland well encounters gas shows

Falkland Islands explorer Borders & Southern Petroleum has abandoned its Stebbing well in the South Falkland basin. Well 61/25-1 was drilled to a total measured depth of 3,060 m (10,040 ft) and encountered “very strong gas shows” in the Tertiary section. Petrophysical analysis of the logs suggests an interval of thin-bedded siltstones and claystones with a net-to-gross of 36% and an average porosity of 19%. Due to fluid pressures continuing to rise, Borders said it became impossible to continue drilling while maintaining well integrity and decided to plug and abandon the well. The Leiv Eiriksson rig was subsequently handed over to Falkland Oil and Gas for its drilling program.

FOGL lights up Loligo

Falklands Oil & Gas Ltd. (FOGL) has spudded exploration well 42/07-01 on its Loligo prospect, which is approximately 200 km (124 miles) east of the Falkland Islands. FOGL is the operator of the well with a 75% interest, together with its joint venture partner Edison International Spa. The well is designed to test the Loligo complex, which is a large Tertiary-aged stratigraphic trap with multiple reservoir objectives. It is the first of a two-well exploration program using Ocean Rig’s Leiv Eiriksson semisubmersible drilling rig.

NE coast opens up for Petrobras

Petrobras has made an ultra-deepwater oil discovery in the frontier Cear? basin off Brazil’s northeastern coast. The company said it successfully verified the presence of oil during the drilling of well 1-BRSA-1080-CES (1-CES-158), named Pec?m. The well is 76 km (47 miles) away from the county of Paracuru on the Cear? state coast, in 2,129 m (6,985 ft) water depth. The discovery occurred in siliciclastic reservoirs of the Paracuru formation and hit an estimated hydrocarbon column of 290 m (951 ft), with 140 m (459 ft) of reservoir. The well is planned for 5,500 m (18,046 ft) total depth (TD). Petrobras operates the BM-CE-2 concession with a 60% interest in partnership with BP (40%).

NORTH AMERICA

Danny delivers for Helix

A deepwater oil discovery was made in the Garden Banks (GB) area of the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) by a subsidiary of Helix Energy Solutions Group, with the Danny II exploration well on the Bushwood field in GB 506. The Danny II well encountered more than 21 m (70 ft) of high-quality net pay approximately 233 km (145 miles) offshore Galveston, Texas. The exploration well was drilled to approximately 4,496 m (14,750 ft) TD in approximately 853 m (2,800 ft) water depth. Helix says the well will most likely be developed via a subsea tieback system to the 70%-owned and operated East Cameron Block 381 platform approximately 50 km (31 miles) to the north in 113 m (370 ft) water depth. First production is expected in 4Q 2012.

Cobalt tests Lower Tertiary structure

Cobalt International Energy has started drilling its North Platte-1 exploration well in deepwater GB Block 859 in the GoM using the Ensco 8503 drilling rig. The Cobalt-operated well is testing a four-way inboard Lower Tertiary structure that lies in the heart of the emerging inboard Lower Tertiary play. The company said it anticipates announcing the results of the well late in 2012. Cobalt also is participating in the Anadarko-operated Shenandoah-2 appraisal well in Walker Ridge Block 51 that was spudded in late June. The company anticipates the results of this well also will be announced later this year.

EUROPE

Platypus flows for Dana in UK

Dana Petroleum has confirmed strong results with its Platypus gas appraisal well in the UK Southern North Sea. The appraisal well recorded a test flowrate of 27 MMcf/d of gas on a 96/ 64 -in. choke. Well 48/1a-6 was spudded in April by the Ensco 80 jackup rig, with the well reaching a total measured depth of 4,321 m (14,175 ft) in June. A drillstem test was successfully completed in July, and the well is being suspended for use as a future production well. The Dana-operated Platypus gas accumulation is in Block 48/1a and was discovered in 2010.

Johan Sverdrup appraisal campaign under way

Lundin Petroleum has spudded its fifth appraisal well on the giant Johan Sverdrup discovery in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. Well 16/2-13 is around 2 km (1.5 miles) northeast of the discovery well, 16/2-6, drilled in 2010. The main objective is to determine the top reservoir, reservoir quality, and thickness as well as oil-water contact in this part of the field. The operator plans to drill the well to 2,149 m (7,050 ft) TD. The well is being drilled using the semisubmersible rig Transocean Arctic and is expected to take approximately 45 days.

Chrysaor leads Spanish Point

Chrysaor is to become operator of the deepwater Spanish Point gas condensate discovery in the Atlantic Margin offshore Ireland, with the UK independent and its partner expected to drill up to two appraisal wells on the find. Partner Providence Resources confirmed Chrysaor was taking over as operator of the Upper Jurassic discovery, which is located in frontier exploration license (FEL) 2/04. The license, which also contains the Lower Cretaceous Burren oil discovery, is situated in the Main Porcupine basin, around 200 km (124 miles) off the west coast of Ireland in 400 m (1,312 ft) water depth. Under the terms of a 2008 farm-out agreement, Chrysaor will spud an initial appraisal well in 3Q 2013. The partners also agreed to transfer the operator-ship of FEL 2/04, FEL 4/08, and licensing option 11/2 from Providence to Chrysaor.

CENTRAL ASIA/PACIFIC RIM

Lundin focuses on Sabah

The company has spudded the second well in its 2012 Malaysian drilling campaign with the Berangan-1 exploration well in the SB303 Block offshore Sabah, Malaysia. The well is targeting hydrocarbons in mid Miocene-aged sands in a faulted anticline in an undrilled sub-basin 10 km (6 miles) southeast of the Tarap gas discovery made by Lundin last year. Lundin holds a 75% interest in the block; partner Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd holds the remaining 25%.

Jupiter spuds Kazakh well

Jupiter Energy has spudded the J-55 exploration well onshore Block 31 in western Kazakhstan’s Mangistau basin – its second commitment well this year and the final commitment well for the 100%-owned permit. Drilling is planned to a 3,400 m (11,155 ft) TD in a new extension area south of the Akkar East oil discovery. Australian-based Jupiter said J-55 has the potential to intersect a primary Mid-Triassic carbonate reservoir target and a secondary Jurassic clastic reservoir target. The company also estimated the area could hold up to 10 MMbbl of potential resources.

AFRICA

Wawa a winner off Ghana

According to Tullow Oil, the Wawa-1 well in the Deepwater Tano license has intersected oil and gas condensate in a Turonian turbidite channel system. The well hit 20 m (66 ft) of gas condensate pay and 13 m (43 ft) of oil pay in turbidite sands. Samples show the oil to be good quality, between 38° and 44° API. The Wawa-1 well, which will be suspended, was drilled 10 km (6 miles) north of the Enyenra-3A well, testing the previously undrilled updip portion of the license. Atwood Oceanic’s Atwood Hunter semisubmersible rig drilled the well to 3,322 m (10,899 ft) TD in 587 m (1,926 ft) water depth.

Ophir hits gas on Tonel

The company’s latest ultra-deepwater wildcat offshore Equatorial Guinea has hit gas with recoverable reserves estimated at 800 Bcf, raising the prospect for a further LNG train on Bioko Island. Ophir said the Tonel-1 (R-4) well in Block R is estimated to hold recoverable mean resources of 800 Bcf (133 MMboe) of gas. The discovery has exceeded predrill expectations, with an estimated mean in-place resource of 1.1 Tcf (177 MMboe). Total derisked, recoverable gas resources in Block R are approximately 2.2 Tcf (367 MMboe), approaching the minimum commercial threshold for a second LNG train on Bioko Island, which is estimated to be around 2.5 Tcf. The Tonel well encountered a 182-m (597-ft) gas column in the mid-Miocene sandstone target, with 117 m (384 ft) of net pay. The Ocean Rig Eirik Raude semi-submersible spudded Tonel-1 in July in 1,599 m (5,246 ft) water depth and drilled the well to 3,072 m (10,079 ft) TD.

70 Tcf in Mozambique Area 4

Italy’s Eni has extended its massive gas reserves off the east coast of Africa by 10 Tcf following the company’s latest exploration well offshore Mozambique. The Mamba North East 2 well in the eastern part of Area 4 has been confirmed as a “new giant natural gas discovery,” adding to the full potential of the block, with the discoveries in the license now estimated at 70 Tcf of gas of gas in place. Eni added that the resources exclusively located in Area 4 in the Rovuma basin are at least 20 Tcf of gas in place. The operator will conduct a production test at Mamba North East 2, which was drilled in 1,994 m (6,542 ft) water depth and reached 5,365 m (17,603 ft) TD. Eni is the operator of the permit with a 70% participating interest. Its partners are GalpEnergia (10%), KOGAS (10%), and ENH (10%, carried through the exploration phase).

Papa strikes gas offshore Tanzania

Ophir Energy’s Papa-1 well has been confirmed as the first Cretaceous gas discovery outboard of the Rufiji Delta in Block 3 offshore Tanzania. It is the sixth consecutive gas discovery by the Ophir-BG Group joint venture in Blocks 1, 3, and 4. The well hit an 89-m (292-ft) gas-bearing column in the Upper Cretaceous, with initial estimates of gas in place at 0.5 Tcf to 2 Tcf. Drilled in 2,186 m (7,172 ft) water depth by Odfjell’s Deep Sea Metro I, the well reached 5,544 m (18,190 ft) TD in 57 days. The BG-Ophir venture’s first four discoveries successfully tested targets of Miocene, Oligocene, and Paleocene age in the Tertiary Intraslope play and are currently estimated to have discovered total recoverable resources of approximately 7 Tcf (1,167 MMboe).

MIDDLE EAST

Total snaps up Kurdistan stakes

The company completed an acquisition of a 35% interest in the Harir and Safen blocks, which are held by Marathon Oil KDV B.V. Total will operate the Safen block’s development, while Marathon will remain operator during the exploration phase. Marathon also will remain operator of the Harir block. The Kurdistan Regional Government continues to have a fully carried 20% interest in the blocks, which are northeast of Erbil. A 2-D seismic program on both blocks is ongoing and expected to be completed by 3Q 2012. The first exploration well on the Harir block began drilling at the end of July and is exploring Mesozoic fractured carbonates with main reservoir objectives in the Cretaceous, Jurassic, and Triassic formations. The first exploration well on the Safen block is planned for 1H 2013.

PetroChina steps into Qatar

PetroChina plans to acquire a 40% stake in the E&P rights for natural gas in Qatar’s offshore Block 4 from French energy company GDF Suez’s Qatar unit. The Chinese company will begin drilling in the block in the next few months. GDF Suez Qatar, which will hold the remaining 60% stake in Block 4, will continue as operator of the block. The deal required approval from state-owned Qatar Petroleum. Block 4 covers more than 2,500 km (1,553 miles) in up to 75 m (246 ft) water depth.

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