1 Canada
Calgary-based Questerre Energy Corp. flowed 1,000 bbl. of oil equivalent per day of light oil and associated gas from a horizontal well in the Mannville formation in the Vulcan area of southern Alberta. The well was drilled to a vertical depth of 1,900 meters and has a 500-meter horizontal leg. It was stimulated with a four-stage selective frac. During a five-day test with capacity restraints, it made 750 bbl. per day with associated gas and less than a 10% water cut, reports Nickle’s Petroleum Explorer. Field operations are already under way to tie the well into the existing gathering system and battery. Questerre and partner Compton Petroleum Corp., also of Calgary, have identified two infill locations and are applying for drilling approvals.

2 Ireland
Lansdowne Oil & Gas, Dublin, has been awarded an exploration license in the North Celtic Sea Basin offshore Ireland’s southern coast. License 5/08 covers 449 square kilometers in 100 meters of water, about 30 kilometers offshore. The company plans a 2-D seismic survey. The work commitment for the license calls for 300 kilometers of new seismic data and an exploration well, according to E&P Daily.

3 Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan International Operating Co. (AIOC), operated by BP Plc, has started production from its Deep Water Gunashli (DWG) platform complex. This marks the third phase of development of Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) Field in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea. DWG complex is in 175 meters of water on the east side of Gunashli Field. On plateau, it will produce approximately 320,000 bbl. of oil per day, bringing total ACG oil production to more than 1 million bbl. per day. BP’s partners in the project are Chevron, Socar, Inpex, StatoilHydro, ExxonMobil, TPAO, Devon Energy Corp., Itochu and Hess Corp.

4 Ghana
Kosmos Energy, Dallas, has tested oil at the rate of 5,200 bbl. per day during a drillstem test of a Mahogany-2 appraisal in Jubilee Field, on the offshore West Cape Three Points Block. The test was run across a 17-meter interval, and the company reports rates were limited by surface facilities. The well confirmed estimated gross recoverable estimates of between 500 million and 1.8 billion bbl. of oil. Partners in the project are Anadarko Petroleum Corp., Tullow Oil, E.O. Group, Sabre Oil & Gas and Ghana National Pe­­t­ro­leum Corp.
An impressive number of 41 companies have applied for blocks in Ghana since the Jubliee discovery. Ghana National Petroleum Corp. has been flooded with applications from foreign companies expressing interest in investing in oil exploration.

5 Gabon
Gabon will launch a new deepwater licensing round next year in an attempt to try to rejoin the big league of African producers. Exploration in the country has been more limited than in many others in the region in recent years, resulting in a drop in production to less than 300,000 bbl. of oil per day from the heights of more than 370,000 in 1997. The new round is expected to feature offshore deepwater areas, with particular emphasis on pre-salt targets in the southern area of Gabon. In support of the round, CGGVeritas will acquire an extensive 2-D seismic survey for the government. The seismic should be completed this year.

6 Iraq
Calgary explorer Niko Resources has entered its first production-sharing contract with the Kurdistan regional government for the exploration, development and production of petroleum resources in the 846-sq.-kilometer Qara Dagh Block. The company has agreed to a signature bonus, capacity-building bonus and a work program. It will acquire at least 300 kilometers of 2-D seismic and drill an exploration well.

7 Iran
Three Indian state-run oil companies have indicated they are willing to invest $3 billion in the 3,500-sq.-kilometer Farsi Block in the Persian Gulf. Gas fields in the block are estimated to hold recoverable reserves of 12.8 trillion cu. ft. Indian Oil Corp., Oil & Natural Gas Corp. and Oil India are optimistic they will be awarded development rights. So far, the companies have spent $90 million in exploration on the block and have submitted a commerciality report on the discoveries.

8 China
Houston independent Newfield Exploration Co. encountered 18 net meters of oil pay in its LF7-2-1 exploration well. The test was drilled on Block 17/08 in the Pearl River Mouth Basin, 180 kilometers offshore Hong Kong. It tested a feature on a structural ridge. Additional drilling is planned.

9 Indonesia
Canada’s Husky Energy and state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) will join forces to develop Madura BD Field offshore East Java. The two have signed a joint-venture agreement that calls for CNOOC to buy half of Husky’s 100% stake in the Madura Straits production-sharing contract for $125 million. The Madura PSC lies 40 kilometers north of East Java and covers 2,794 sq. kilometers. Ten wells have been drilled on the block since 1984.

10 Timor Leste
Italian firm ENI is considering fast-track development of the Kitan oil discovery in the Timor Sea following a successful appraisal well. Kitan-2 looks as good if not better than Kitan-1, which flowed at 6,100 bbl. of oil per day during testing. The find is in permit 06-105 in the joint petroleum-development area, which is shared between Timor Leste and Australia. ENI operates the block, and its partners are Inpex and Talisman Energy.

11 Australia
Australia has awarded nine offshore exploration permits and expects spending some $400 million on the acreage. In the Bonaparte Basin, Apache Corp., Houston, and French firm Total SA jointly won two permits and local Australian company Finder Exploration took another two. A fifth was awarded to Chinese firm Sino­pec. Three permits in Browse Basin off Western Australia were won. Total; a joint venture of Santos, Inpex and Chev­ron; and a combination of Santos, Inpex and Beach Petroleum each received land. One permit in Carnarvon Basin went to Cue Exploration and Gascorp Australia, both Australian firms.

12 Fiji
Eight Pacific Island countries are hoping to file claims to a further 1.5 million sq. kilometers of maritime territory under Article 76 of the International Law of the Sea. The expansion would give the island nations licensing rights to exploration acreage beyond the current 200-mile limit.
Fiji, Cook Islands, Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, Tonga and Papua New Guinea plan to apply to the United Nations to extend their exclusive economic zones (EEZs) via the intergovernmental Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (Sopac).
The claims, which have to be filed by May 2009, rest on extension of the continental shelf. The precedent was set by a recent successful claim by Australia to extend its economic zone.

Comments