?In Saskatchewan, an October 2008 sale of 49 featured petroleum and natural-gas exploration licenses and 344 lease parcels pushed annual revenue for the province from Crown sales above the billion-dollar mark for the first time.


The Weyburn-Estevan area attracted the most bids with sales of more than C$191 million, reflecting the continuing strong interest in the Canadian Bakken play. The Swift Current area was next at C$22.3 million, followed by the Kindersley-Kerrobert area at C$6.6 million and the Lloydminster area at C$2.8 million.


Pioneer Enviro Group Ltd. paid more than C$3 million—a record C$46,503 per hectare—for a 65-hectare lease parcel of deeper rights nine kilometers north of the town of Forget, in southeast Saskatchewan. The highest single-parcel price paid was just under C$33.9 million. Standard Land Co. Inc. acquired this 1,554-hectare exploration license of deeper rights, located 28 kilometers east of Estevan.


The Bakken formation in Canada is far from mature and has been called one of the largest oil fields in the country. Canada’s proven oil reserves total 179 billion barrels, of which 173 billion are in oil sands. Canada is second only to Saudi Arabia in global oil reserves.?

?1 Canada
A Liard Basin deep-shale well located approximately 100 kilometers east of the Horn River shale play in northeast British Columbia is producing nicely for Transeuro Energy Corp., Vancouver, and Questerre Energy Corp. of Calgary. After perforation, mini-fracs and high-pressure acid stimulation in existing well #d-a64-K (A5), sweet dry gas flowed at a stabilized rate of 10 million cu. ft. per day over a three-day test with a wellhead pressure of 3,000 psi. The #A-5 is the third well producing from the shale/siltstone intervals at Beaver River. The two other producing wells, #A7 and #A2, produce from the respective upper and middle intervals. Transeuro has a 50% interest in 35 sections.

2 Cuba
Petrobras and Cuba’s state-owned Cupet (Companhia Cubana de Petróleo) signed an exploration and production agreement for Block 37 in the Varadiero region off Cuba’s northwest shore. Recently, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) estimated that the North Cuba Basin could hold around 9 billion bbl. of oil and 21 billion cu. ft. of natural gas. Cupet estimates are double the USGS estimates. Cupet studies of the area have compared Cuba’s subsea geology to Cantarell and Poza Rica fields in Mexico’s Bay of Campeche. Block 37 covers 1,600 sq. kilometers in water depths ranging from 500 meters to 1.6 kilometers. Four exploration periods are planned, lasting 18 to 24 months each. At the end of each period Petrobras, based in Rio de Janeiro, can assess its participation status.

3 United Kingdom
Venture Production of Aberdeen could double output from the North Sea’s Chestnut Field this year based on results from a second production well. Using an FPSO, the well hit 64 ft. of oil-bearing sandstone and produced at a maximum gross rate of 9,000 bbl. of oil per day during testing. The well will be tied into the subsea infrastructure during early 2009. Venture is the field operator and holds a 69.875% stake in the part of Block 22/2a that contains Chestnut Field, which holds recoverable reserves estimated at 1.4 million bbl. of oil equivalent.

4 Italy
Mediterranean Oil & Gas plans to tap its offshore Ombrina Mare discovery near Pescara, Italy, through five oil production wells and two gas production wells. According to E&P Daily, the company estimates that it will produce 5,000- to 8,000 bbl. of oil and 3- to 5 million cu. ft of gas daily from the field during the next 15 to 20 years. Mediterranean Oil & Gas is currently preparing development plans, which may include a new platform and hub for future production, to submit to Italian authorities. Mediterranean’s headquarters are in London.

5 Bulgaria
Melrose Resources of Edinburgh has hit pay in its #1 Kavarna exploration well, 4.4 miles east of its Galata Field, offshore Bulgaria in the Black Sea. The well was drilled to a total depth of 2,899 ft. and encountered the top of the Paleocene reservoir target at a depth of 2,628 ft. Initial reserves estimates for the discovery are 24 billion cu. ft. of gas. Plans are now being formulated for the development of the discovery, and first production is expected in 2010.

6 Egypt
Apache Corp. reported 4,746 bbl. of oil and 4.4 million cu. ft. of gas per day in a test at the #1X-WKAL-C discovery on the West Kalabsha concession in Egypt’s Faghur Basin. The well was drilled to a total depth of 14,600 ft. and logged 46 ft. of Safa oil pay and 36 ft. of pay in the Alem El Bueib (AEB) 3C formation. Wireline pressure data suggests the water level may be at least 190 ft. below the base of the oil sand. Oil produced in Heqet, Kalabsha and Neith fields is found in Jurassic-aged sediments. Apache, based in Houston, operates the West Kalabsha concession and has a 100% contractor interest.

7 Iran
A subsidiary of state-owned National Iranian Oil Co. (NIOC) is offering 14 oil and gas fields for development. Iran’s Oil Ministry listed the gas fields being offered as Assaolouyeh and Gardan in southwest Iran near the Gulf, while the others are Mokhtar, Salakh, Kabir Kouh and Houh-Mond. Iran is OPEC’s second-largest oil exporter at 4.2 million bbl. of oil per day with recoverable oil reserves estimated at 137 billion bbl., about 12% of the world’s overall reserves.

8 Brunei
Total struck a 400-meter gas column in Block B, about 50 kilometers off the coast of Brunei. In a water depth of 62 meters, the #ML-4 well discovered a new gas-bearing compartment in Maharaja Lela/Jamalulalam Field that is equivalent to reservoirs currently producing from the field. Total operates the field, with an average production of gas and liquids of 28,500 bbl. of oil equivalent per day. The ML-4 well completes the first phase of an exploration drilling program that will resume in 2009. Total?is?the block operator with a 37.5%?stake; its headquarters are in Paris.

9 Indonesia
IHS Inc. reports that Marathon Oil Corp. of Houston and its subsidiary, Marathon Indonesia New Ventures Ltd., were awarded a 49% interest and operator rights in the Bone Bay Block offshore Indonesia.?The Bone Bay Block is approximately 1.23 million acres and is offshore of southern Sulawesi Island. The company said it is a high-potential, under-explored area and lies in water depths ranging between 165 and 6,500 ft. Also in Indonesia, Migas awarded 22 blocks to Black Gold Energy subsidiary Kaizan Oil & Gas and Niko Resources for South East Ganal I in the Makassar Straits.

10 Australia
According to IHS Inc., Australia’s Beach Petroleum hit a 23-ft. gas column with the #1 Brownlow exploration well at the PEL106 permit in the Cooper Basin, South Australia. Beach, with headquarters in Glenside, South Australia, will evaluate additional hydrocarbon shows in the basal Patchawarra formation by drillstem tests between 8,908-31 ft. before setting production casing. The #1 Brownlow lies about 1.2 miles north of Middleton-1 and five miles northwest of Raven Field. Beach has 50% equity in a farm-in block on PEL-106 and Drillsearch holds the remaining 50%. The next well in Beach’s drilling program is #1 Canunda.

11 Australia
Santos Ltd. reported that its offshore #2 Henry ST1 development well reached a clean-up flow of about 44 million cu. ft. per day of gas. The #2 Henry was drilled in 230 ft. of water in the Otway Basin, offshore Victoria. A 10-mile pipeline will connect Henry and nearby Netherby gas fields to?existing facilities on nearby Casino Field in the first part of 2009. Santos, of Adelaide, Australia, is the operator of the VIC/P 44 permit and has a 50% working interest. Mitsui E&P Australia and Australian Worldwide Exploration Ltd. each hold a 25% working interest.

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