E&P Highlights: Oct. 2, 2023

From the production go-ahead for the Breidablikk Field in the North Sea to promising results from the Venus drill stem test offshore Namibia, below is a compilation of the latest headlines in the E&P space. 

Activity headlines

NPD Approves Start-up of Breidablikk Project

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) said Sept. 28 it had approved start-up of the Breidablikk field in the North Sea, with production expected to start in October.

The Breidablikk oil field is 10 km northeast of the Grane field, west of Haugesund. The field is a subsea development with four subsea templates, each with six well slots. Breidablikk contains around 190 MMbbl, with around $1.78 billion (NOK 19 billion) in total investments in the subsea development.

Equinor operates the field on behalf of partners Vår Energi, ConocoPhillips and Petoro.

Venus DST Delivers Promising Results

Impact Oil & Gas Ltd. said Sept. 28 the drill stem test (DST) for the Venus-1X well, in which Impact is a partner, showed positive results, with a similar test set for an appraisal well in the fourth quarter of 2023.

The Venus Field was initially discovered in the Orange Basin offshore Namibia in February 2022. 

The Venus-1A appraisal well, drilled by Tungsten Explorer, also delivered positive results, Impact said, and the Deepsea Mira will re-enter the well for the DST.

TotalEnergies operates Block 2913B containing the light oil discovery with 40% interest on behalf of partners QatarEnergy with 30%, Impact Oil and Gas with 20% and state-owned NAMCOR with 10% interest.

Contracts and company news

TotalEnergies Sells 40% in Block 20 to Petronas

TotalEnergies EP Angola Block 20 finalized the sale of a 40% interest in Block 20 in the Kwanza Basin in Angola to Petronas Angola E&P LTD, TotalEnergies announced Sept. 28. 

The $400 million transaction was completed as of Jan. 1, 2023, subject to customary price adjustments.

Block 20 contains the Cameia and Golfinho oil discoveries, which will be developed through a system of subsea wells connected to an FPSO capable of handling 70,000 bbl/d. 

TotalEnergies retains the operatorship and a 40% interest in Block 20, alongside Petronas with 40% and Sonangol Pesquisa e Produção S.A. with 20%.

Petrobras Taps TechnipFMC for Flexible Pipes

TechnipFMC said Sept. 28 it won a contract from Petrobras to supply flexible pipes for pre-salt fields offshore Brazil. Under the deal, TechnipFMC will design, engineer and manufacture 14 km of gas injection riser pipes and supply associated services, including packing and storage.

KCA Deutag Wins $380 Million in Land Drilling Work

KCA Deutag announced Sept. 26 it won land drilling contracts and contract extensions valued at $379 million from new and existing customers in Saudi Arabia, Oman and Pakistan.

In Saudi Arabia, KCA Deutag won contract extensions and an equipment upgrade project with a combined value of $292 million. The contract extensions amount to a total of 23 years of additional work across four rigs, while the equipment upgrade project includes the delivery of mechanized catwalks.

In Oman, two existing contracts were extended and one new three-year contract was awarded for a stacked rig, with a total value of $78 million. 

One rig in Pakistan has also secured a new one-year contract, with a value of $9 million with an existing customer in the country.

CGG Reimaging Data Offshore Côte d’Ivoire

CGG said Sept. 27 it began a major new multi-client 3D PSDM reimaging program in the Tano Basin offshore Côte d’Ivoire.

The program is in association with Côte d’Ivoire’s Direction Générale des Hydrocarbures (DGH) and national oil company Petroci Holding. The 6,400 sq km reimaged seismic data set near the recent Baleine field will give insight into the new play. The project is supported by

industry funding and expected to complete by the end of 2024, with a fast-track volume available in the first quarter of 2024.

Halliburton Introduces Equiflow Density Autonomous Inflow Control Device

Halliburton Co. introduced its new EquiFlow Density autonomous inflow control device (AICD) on Oct. 3. 

The AICD addresses reservoir fluid uncertainties and allows the operator to enhance hydrocarbon recovery in wells where current autonomous technologies are limited. EquiFlow Density uses a density amplifier designed to differentiate reservoir fluids. It incorporates a fluid selector to magnify density forces by creating artificial gravity while making the device completely orientation neutral. The fluid selector opens or closes autonomously to restrict water without surface intervention. The tool reduces water influx, which is typically treated at the surface.

EquiFlow Density AICD produces and restricts downhole fluids using density, even when the viscosities are identical. This allows operators to optimize hydrocarbon production in difficult wells where current autonomous technologies are not effectively able to separate the water from the desired oil.

New Sensor Tech for Spill Monitoring

PhotonTec announced Oct. 1 it is partnering with LDI Innovation Ltd. to provide North American customers access to LDI Innovation’s LED-based fluorometric oil and fuel sensing technology. 

Juha Saily, business development manager for PhotonTec, said the new sensors provide higher reliability and sensitivity without false alarms. 

The sensors can detect of “all types of hydrocarbons” to enable real-time detection of “oil and fuel spills on water and land where conventional sensors are often ineffective," Saily said.

The BlueHawk and TinyHawk fluorosensors can be used in environments including oil rigs, water bodies, industrial facilities, refineries, ports and more.