Two immense development projects are being tackled in Algeria, both operated by Australian firm Broken Hill Proprietary Co. In the Berkine Basin, about 800 kilometers southeast of Algiers, BHP and its partners, Sonatrach and Agip Algeria Exploration, will devote $500 million to the 300-million-barrel Rhourde Oulad Djemma development. The five-field project involves the ROD, SFNE, RERN, BSF and RDB accumulations, all located on exploration blocks 401a and 402a. Peak oil production is estimated at 80,000 barrels per day, and first oil will flow in 2003. In a separate deal, BHP will also lead development of four gas/condensate reservoirs in the Ohanet region, about 100 kilometers west of Algeria's border with Libya. The Ohanet fields, estimated to contain total proven and probable reserves of more than 3.4 trillion cubic feet of gas and 223 million barrels of liquids, will be developed under a risk-service contract with Sonatrach. First production is scheduled for October 2003, and peak liquids production will be around 58,000 bbl. per day. Gas volumes will be 655 million cubic feet per day. The total cost of developing the Ohanet reservoirs is estimated at $1 billion. BHP's partners in the contract are a consortium of Japanese companies and U.S. firm Petrofac Resources International. -Peggy Williams 1 Canada Calgary-based Gulf Canada Resources Ltd.'s Fenn 15-35-36-21W4 well, a Leduc and Nisku discovery in Alberta, flowed at rates of up to 3,200 bbl. per day during an extended test period. Average rates of 2,990 bbl. per day were maintained during a 10-day period from the new-pool discovery. Since it acquired the 15-35 well in mid-May, Gulf has drilled two new wells into the pool in 14-35. It holds a 100% interest in the venture. 2 Brazil Unocal Corp. and El Paso Energy International have acquired a 79% interest in Petrobras' Pescada-Arabaiana project, in northeastern Brazil's offshore Poriguar Basin. The joint venture is purchasing proven reserves of 22 million bbl. of oil and 345 billion cu. ft. of gas, offshore platforms, and pipelines and related production facilities. The deal also includes interests in six shallow-water exploration concessions. Total investment in the project could reach $80 million during the next three to five years, and production levels are estimated at 6,500 bbl. of oil and 55 million cu. ft. of gas per day by 2003. Unocal and El Paso will initially own 79% of the project, and Petrobras will operate and own 21%. 3 Brazil Also, Petrobras reports that it plans to develop Barracuda and Caratinga fields, in the offshore Campos Basin in water depths between 600 and 1,350 meters. The national oil company let contracts valued at $2.5 billion to Halliburton Co. for engineering, procurement, installation and construction of the project. The development plans call for two floating production, storage and offloading vessels, each with a storage capacity of 2 million bbl. and a production capacity of 150,000 bbl. of oil per day. 4 Greenland Norwegian firm Statoil has begun drilling in the Fylla license 3/97, about 150 kilometers west of Nuuk. The Qulleq-1 well, projected to a depth of 1,156 meters, is the first exploration drilling off Greenland since 1976. Statoil was issued the Fylla license in December 1995; it operates and owns a 38.25% working interest. Its partners are Phillips Petroleum, also with 38.25%, Danish Oil & Natural Gas with 8.5%; and Nunaoil with 15%. 5 U.K. North Sea Skene Field, a gas condensate accumulation on Block 9/19 in approximately 380 ft. of water, been approved for development, says interest owner Kerr-McGee Corp. The field has estimated recoverable reserves of 95 million bbl. of oil equivalent. Costs for the subsea development are estimated at $400 million. Skene will produce at initial rates of up to 180 million cu. ft. of gas per day, with first gas flowing in 2002. The well will be tied back by bundled pipeline to the nearby Bertl Alpha platform, approximately 9 miles away. Exxon Mobil operates Skene with 38.22% interest; Kerr-McGee has 33.33%; Enterprise Oil, 15.89%; Amerada Hess, 9.07%; and OMV (U.K.) Ltd., 3.49%. 6 U.K. North Sea Shell U.K. Exploration & Production has received regulatory approval to develop the Brigantine gas fields in the Southern North Sea. Brigantine comprises three fields with cumulative recoverable reserves of 280 billion cu. ft. of gas. First production is expected in January 2001, with peak rates of 130 million cu. ft. of gas per day. The $150-million project will recover 50 million bbl. of oil equivalent. The development scheme calls for four producing wells and two unmanned platforms. Shell and Exxon Mobil Corp. own the Shell-operated project, 50-50. 7 Spain Cambria Europe, a subsidiary of Wyoming's True family, reports that its El Coto well has spudded in the Cantabrian Basin. The Triassic Bunter test, operated by YCI España LC is projected to a total depth of 15,000 ft. #, the Basque national oil company based in Bilbao, is also a partner. Since their 1995 acquisition of 11 exploration permits covering 640,000 acres, the group has acquired 137 kilometers of 2-D seismic data and reprocessed about 350 kilometers of existing data. Field mapping, gravity and geochemical work have all been undertaken as well. 8 Poland Salt Lake City independent FX Energy Inc. says that the initial test in an exploration program it is carrying out with the Polish Oil & Gas Co. on 300,000 acres in western Poland was successful. The Kleka #11 well flowed at a calculated open flow rate of 34.3 million cu. ft. of gas per day from Rotliegendes sandstone. POGC operates the project and has a 51% interest. FX holds 49%. 9 Poland New York-based EuroGas Inc. has been awarded 10 concessions to explore and develop oil and gas in the Carpathian thrust belt province, between the Boryslaw oil region of Ukraine and the oil-producing region of Krosno in Poland. Concessions #23/2000/L to 32/2000/L inclusive cover slightly more than a million acres. EuroGas plans to acquire seismic data over a large prospect in the Rymanov-Lesko area, and drill an exploration well on the feature in 2001. 10 Azerbaijan BP Amoco and its partners have begun drilling a third test at Shah Deniz Field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea. The SDX-3 lies in the shallow-water area of the field, where water depth is between 50 and 70 meters. The company estimates that six months of drilling will be required to reach the projected well depth of 6,800 meters. BP Amoco and Statoil each hold a 25.5% interest in Shah Deniz; Socar, TotalFina Elf, the National Iranian Oil Co., and a joint venture of Lukoil and Agip each hold 10%; and Turkish firm TPAO, 9%. 11 Malaysia Deepwater Block F has been awarded to a consortium consisting of a unit of Amerada Hess Corp. and Petronas Carigali. The partners will spend at least $10.5 million exploring the 8,000-square-kilometer block. Plans call for the acquisition of 4,000 kilometers of new 2-D seismic data, reprocessing of 1,000 kilometers of existing 2-D seismic, and the drilling of a wildcat well. Water depths on Block F, 350 kilometers offshore Sarawak, range from 200 to 1,200 meters. Amerada Hess will operate and hold an 85% stake in the block and Petronas will own the remaining 15%. 12 China Phillips Petroleum Co. says that it will proceed with development of #its Peng Lai 19-3 Field in Block 11/05 in Bohai Bay. Production from the first phase will begin in early 2002 at an expected rate between 35,000 and 40,000 bbl. of oil per day. The company also notes that it has made two new oil discoveries, both in water depths of 75 ft., on the block. The 5,016-ft. PL 9-1-1 well, drilled on a large structure in the northeast portion of Block 11/05, encountered 62 ft. of net pay in Guantao sandstones and gross pay of 610 ft. in pre-Tertiary granite wash. The second discovery, PL 25-6-1, was made on a separate anticline 3 miles east of PL 19-3 Field. This 7,731-ft. well encountered 308 ft. of net pay in the Guantao formation. A third test was completed as a dry hole. Phillips holds a 100% percent interest in the 2.3-million-acre block, and the China National Offshore Oil Corp. has the right to acquire up to a 51% interest in any developments. 13 China Also in Bohai Bay, Texaco Inc. reports that it discovered oil at a shallow-water test in Contract Area 11/19. The Bozhong 25-1-8 lies in 57 ft. of water and was drilled to a total depth of 7,134 ft. The well encountered 115 net ft. of high-quality reservoir sands in the Tertiary Minghuazhen Formation between 5,500 to 5,700 ft. Texaco holds a 100% contractor's interest in the 787,384-acre Block 11/19. Meanwhile, again in Bohai Bay, Oklahoma City-based Kerr-McGee Corp. reports that it has drilled a successful appraisal well, the CFD 11-1-3, on Block 04/36. Oil flowed at the rate of more than 1,800 bbl. per day on a test of the Guantao formation. The 4,921-ft. well, drilled in 92 ft. of water, lies 3 miles north of the CFD 11-1-1 discovery well. Kerr-McGee operates Block 04/36 and holds an 81.8% interest. Pendaries Petroleum Ltd. has an 18.2% interest.

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