E&P Highlights: May 28, 2024

Activity headlines

Imperial Achieves First Oil from Grand Rapids Project

Exxon Mobil-majority owned Imperial Oil Ltd.’s Grand Rapids oil sands project has begun production at Cold Lake, in Alberta, Canada, the company announced in a May 22 press release.

Production will continue to ramp up in the coming months to eventually hit a full rate of 15,000 bbl/d this year, according to Imperial’s May 22 press release.

Cold Lake is the first recovery technology project using less steam to lower emissions, using solvent-assisted, steam-assisted drainage to reduce emissions by 40%. Imperial developed and piloted the technology, which uses light oil mixed with steam to recover oil from underground deposits.

By 2030, Imperial plans to use the new technology deployed at Cold Lake, combined with improved efficiencies at its facilities to reduce its Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 30% compared to 2016 levels.

TotalEnergies to Invest $600MM in Oilfield Offshore Congo

TotalEnergies is set to invest $600 million in the Republic of Congo's offshore Moho Nord Field, the company announced May 24, in an effort to increase E&P activities in 2024.

Spanning more than 320 sq km and located at water depths between 750 m and 1,200 m, the field's development is crucial for maintaining the country's production rates. The Moho Nord field, which is operated by TotalEnergies, accounts for around half of Congolese oil production, roughly 140,000 bbl/d.

With this investment, TotalEnergies is expected to bolster the Republic of Congo's oil production by an additional 40,000 bbl/d, adding to the nation's current production of 267,000 bbl/d.

The news follows TotalEnergies’ agreement to acquire a 10% stake in the Moho field from Trident Energy. Upon completion of this deal, TotalEnergies will hold a 63.5% stake in the Moho permit, with Trident Energy holding a 21.5% share and the Congo national oil company, Société Nationale des Pétroles du Congo, holding the remaining 15%.

Equinor Makes New Svalin Field Discovery

Equinor has made a new oil discovery at the Svalin FIeld in PL 169 in the Norwegian North Sea, following the drilling of the well 25/11-H-1 H.

Drilled using the Deepsea Aberdeen rig, preliminary estimates suggest recoverable resources of around 600,000 boe. The Norwegian Offshore Directorate said that the licensees of the Svalin Field are now assessing the discovery’s profitability before committing to production.

Discovered in 1992, the Svalin field comprises two structures, Svalin C and Svalin M, and has been producing since 2014. Equinor operates the license with a 57% stake, along with partners Petoro, with a 30% stake and Vår Energi with 13% stake.

Contracts and company news

Elemental Energies Awarded GoM Decommissioning Contract

Promethean Energy awarded independent well specialist Elemental Energies with a major contract for the decommissioning of nine orphaned wells in the Gulf of Mexico, the company said in a May 22 press release.

Elemental began work on the first phase of the project in February 2024, providing well management services for the plugging and abandonment of wells in the Matagorda Island area. The work comes as part of a five-year contract awarded to Promethean by the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement to decommission orphaned offshore wells.

The contract is partially funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law through a $64 million commitment to address orphaned oil and gas wells on public lands.

Adaptive Process Solutions Completes Water Treatment Trial

Produced water treatment specialist, Adaptive Process Solutions (APS), completed a field trial of its new Microbubble Infusion Unit (MiFU) technology, achieving a five-fold reduction in oil in water levels, the company announced May 22.

Designed as a retrofittable add-on to existing water treatment systems, MiFU was configured to meet the specific conditions and fluid chemistry at the asset, with before and after results confirming the technology’s potential.

MiFU uses infused micro bubbles, which attach to oil particles and fine solids in produced water that can then be easily removed by the asset’s existing separator process. Capable of processing between 1,000 bbl/d and 100,000 bbl/d of water, MiFU uses a patented multi-pass process which directly injects size and quantity-controlled gas microbubbles into target points in a contaminated water stream.

APS has begun construction of a second MiFU rental skid in response to new business enquiries from the North Sea, Norway, West Africa, Gulf of Mexico and Brazil.

HD Hyundai, Shell Announce Joint Development Agreement

HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries announced a joint development agreement with Shell on May 24. Under this agreement, HD Hyundai and Shell will jointly develop a design for an operable large liquid hydrogen (LH2) carrier from the 2030s onwards that can transport hydrogen intercontinentally.

HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering will be using its own technologies to develop the key technologies involved, including large LH2 tanks and a hydrogen cargo operation system. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries will be in charge of developing a hydrogen engine and designing an LH2 carrier. Shell will review the operational feasibility of the carrier design.

HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering was awarded approval in principle by DNV in 2023 for developing a proprietary hydrogen system for large LH2 carriers.

HD Hyundai has been cooperating with various global companies to develop technologies related to marine hydrogen transportation, including the memorandum of understanding it signed last February with Woodside Energy, Hyundai Glovis and MOL for the development of an LH2 marine transportation value chain.