AFRICA

OMV enters Namibia exploration project

OMV has entered an offshore exploration project in Namibia by acquiring a 65% interest along with Murphy Luderitz Oil Co. Ltd. in two exploration blocks from Cowan Petroleum, OMV said in a press release. OMV will take 25% while Murphy will be the operator of the joint venture with an interest of 40%. Cowan will retain 20% equity. The remaining 15% is held by the Namibian national oil company NAMCOR. The permit PEL 046 covers blocks 2613A and 2613B, which total about 11,000 sq km (4,250 sq miles).

Statoil farms out Angolan presalt interest

Statoil has signed an agreement to farm out a 15% interest to WRG Angola Block 39 Ltd. in the Statoil-operated Block 39 offshore Angola in the Kwanza presalt basin, a press release said. WRG is a 50/50 joint venture comprising White Rose Energy Ventures and Genel Energy Plc. Statoil operates Block 39 and retains a 40% interest after the farm-out. The remaining interest is held by Sonangol P&P (30%), Total (15%) and WRG (15%).

ASIA-PACIFIC

CNOOC finds gas with Bohai Bay probe

China National Offshore Oil Corp. Ltd. (CNOOC) has made a new shallow-water gas find in Bohai Bay. CNOOC reported that it has made a mid-size gas discovery in the south central Bohai Bay region with the 22-1-2 well drilled in a water depth of 25 m (82 ft). It encountered a total reservoir thickness measured at 92 m (301 ft) and tested at 402 Mcm/d (14.2 MMcf/d) of gas.

Husky starts production at Liwan Gas Project

Husky Energy and China National Offshore Oil Corp. Ltd. have commenced first production at Liwan Gas Project in the South China Sea, according to a Husky news release. Located about 300 km (185 miles) southeast of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the project consists of three fields: Liwan 3-1, Liuhua 34-2 and Liuhua 29-1, which share a subsea production system, subsea pipeline transportation and onshore gas processing infrastructure. The Liwan 3-1 field has started production. The Liuhua 34-2 field will be tied into the Liwan infrastructure in the second half of 2014.

RUSSIA CIS

Max hits oil, gas in final Sagiz West well

Max Petroleum Plc’s SAGW-7 appraisal well has reached a depth of 1,438 m (4,718 ft) with electric logs indicating 24 m (79 ft) of net pay in four Triassic reservoirs including 19 m (62 ft) of net oil pay in three upper reservoirs and 5 m (16 ft) of net gas pay in one lower reservoir. SAGW-7 is the final well in the current appraisal drilling program in the Sagiz West Field in Kazakhstan. The company said the reservoir quality is excellent, with porosities ranging from 15% to 27%.

MIDDLE EAST

Shakrok-1 encounters gas, condensate in Kurdistan

The Shakrok-1 well in the Kurdistan region of Iraq has reached its total depth, with wireline logs and fluid sampling indicating the presence of a 27-m (89-ft) gas and condensate column, Petroceltic International said in a news release. The well reached a depth of 3,538 m (11,608 ft) in the Triassic Geli Khana formation. The co-venturers have decided not to test this Triassic zone, and the interval will now be plugged and abandoned. The forward plan for the well is to carry out a comprehensive testing program over a number of prospective oil zones in the Jurassic.

Shell lifts first crude oil from Majnoon

The Majnoon oil field has successfully exported its first shipment of crude oil to Shell Trading, a significant milestone for the oil field, Shell said in a news release. The field is operated by Shell in partnership with South Oil Co., Petronas and Missan Oil in southern Iraq. The achievement comes as production at the Majnoon oil field has reached a current average of 210,000 bbl/d of oil, higher than the 175,000 bbl/d first commercial production target. Shell and its partners successfully recommenced production from Majnoon in September 2013 following the completion of major overhaul works, including 28 sq km (11 sq miles) of mine clearance, extensive refurbishment of brownfield facilities to meet safety standards and the construction of a new greenfield central processing facility to allow for increased production capacity. To date, 18 new wells have been drilled.

EUROPE

Statoil hits oil column in Johan Sverdrup

Statoil’s appraisal well 16/2-19 on the northern margin of the Johan Sverdrup field in production license (PL) 265 encountered a gross oil column of 4.5 m (15 ft) in sandstones believed to represent the Statfjord Formation, according to a press release from partner Det norske oljeselskap ASA. The partnership will drill a sidetrack well about 1,000 m (3,280 ft) to the southwest with the objective of clarifying the northern extent of the Johan Sverdrup main reservoir of the Draupne Formation sandstones. Licensees in PL 265 are Statoil (operator, 40%), Petoro AS (30%), Det norske (20%) and Lundin Norway AS (10%).

Croatia opens offshore license round

Croatia’s Minister of Economy Ivan Vrdoljak officially opened Croatia’s first offshore license round April 2. The license round comprises a total area of 36,823 sq km (14,217 sq miles) divided into 29 blocks. All 29 blocks are available in the license round. The fiscal terms are based on a production-sharing agreement model with a five-year exploration phase and a 25-year production phase, the release said. Bids are due Nov. 3, 2014.

NORTH AMERICA

Imperial Oil sells Western Canada assets

Imperial Oil Ltd., the Canadian energy company majority-owned by ExxonMobil Corp., agreed to sell some assets to Whitecap Resources Inc. for about $774 million as it focuses on larger oil sands projects. The conventional oil and natural gas assets in British Columbia and Alberta produced the equivalent of about 15,000 bbl/d of oil in 2013, the company said in a statement. Half of the production is oil, and the other half is gas.

SOUTH AMERICA

New Brazil round suggested for 2015

Brazil is preparing plans for another licensing round some time toward the middle of next year, according to the latest reports. Marco Antônio Martins Almeida, petroleum secretary at Brazil’s Energy Ministry, has said that plans are being prepared to hold a new oil rights auction mid-2015, which gives more time for sale rules to be drawn up, Reuters reported. However, Brazil’s Magda Chambriard, head of the country’s oil regulator, signaled back in March that she was taking a “conservative” approach toward another licensing round, which was taken to mean that another annual license auction may not take place this year.

Repsol begins gas production in Kinteroni

Repsol has started gas production in the Kinteroni Field. The field, located in Cuzco, east of Lima, Peru, will initially produce 20,000 boe/d, which is expected to double by 2016, the company said in a news release. Repsol is the operator of the project with a 53.84% stake, with Petrobras holding the remaining 46.16%. Kinteroni is located in Block 57, east of Peru's Andes mountain range, and is one of the most promising gas-prone exploratory plays in Peru, Repsol said in the release. In 2012, Repsol made another large discovery in the area, Sagari. Preliminary estimates indicate the field may hold resources of between 2 Tcf and 3 Tcf (57 Bcm and 85 Bcm) of gas.

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