ExxonMobil Corp. reports that it has found a world-class gas field offshore Western Australia. In 2000, the Jansz-1 was drilled on permit WA-18-R, in the Exmouth Plateau in the Carnarvon Basin. The well was part of a deepwater gas exploration program carried out by the partners in the giant Gorgon Field. Late last year, the group followed that well with the Jansz-2, which was drilled in 4,430 feet of water to a depth of 10,800 feet. Results from the two wells indicate that the Jansz structure contains a gross gas column of 1,300 feet covering an area of more than 766 square miles. ExxonMobil estimates that the field, which extends from WA-18-R onto adjacent block WA-267-P, holds approximately 20 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas. Previously, Gorgon Field, to the east of Jansz, was Australia's largest offshore gas deposit, with recoverable reserves of nearly 13 Tcf. ExxonMobil operates the WA-18-R permit and holds a 50% interest; ChevronTexaco holds the remaining 50%. ChevronTexaco operates the WA-267-P block and holds 50%; ExxonMobil has 25%; and Shell and BP each have 12.5% interests. This spring, the partners plan to drill an appraisal well, the Jansz-3, and perform a production test. -Peggy Williams 1 Canada A wildcat is being drilling on Prince Edward Island, targeting multiple objectives in the Cable Head, Green Gables and Bradelle formations. Rally Energy is drilling the Irishtown #2, on permit 96-06 in Queen's County, to a total depth of 1,566 meters. Calgary-based Rally has a 55% working interest in the venture. The firm plans a second well, the Sea View #1, immediately following the Irishtown well. 2 Canada A gas discovery has been made in the foothills region of northwest Alberta by Anadarko Petroleum Corp. The Saddle Hills 15-34-75-7W6A is producing 15.9 million cu. ft. per day from Devonian. The firm, which holds 35,000 net acres in the area, plans two more exploratory wells and three development wells targeting Devonian this year. It will also drill five exploratory and nine development wells to other objectives on its leases. Anadarko says it is now producing 73 million cu. ft. per day from nine wells on its Saddle Hills property; a year ago, production was just 2 million cu. ft. per day. 3 Colombia Ecopetrol reports that it has discovered up to 200 million bbl. of oil at its northeast Gibraltar prospect. The Gibraltar-1, which found oil at 12,050 ft., is on the 47,000-hectare Samoré (Siriri) Block in Norte de Santander province. Previously, the prospect had been operated by Occidental Petroleum. That firm pulled out last year, after spending about $100 million on exploration. According to IHS Energy, Oxy abandoned the Gibraltar-1 in mid-2001, after encountering some gas and condensate in an upper subthrust objective. Ecopetrol resumed drilling late last year, after Oxy relinquished its contract, and deepened the well. There is stiff opposition from the U'wa indigenous tribe to drilling activities in the area. 4 Brazil Petrobras has made a light-crude discovery in 3,780 ft. of water on Block SEAL-100 in the Sergipe Alagoas Basin, offshore northeastern Brazil. The 4-BRSA-189-SES well tested 46-gravity oil. Petrobras, the 100% owner of the block, has made four discoveries on the license since 1998. 5 Austria OMV AG reports that it has made the largest oil and gas discovery in Austria in 25 years. The company's Erdpress-1 exploration well was drilled in the Weinviertel region of Lower Austria, about 35 kilometers north of Vienna in the Steinberg fault zone. The company expects to start production from the find later this year, at an initial rate of 300 bbl. of oil equivalent per day. It says the field contains 4.5 million bbl. of oil equivalent. 6 Egypt Apache Corp. has successfully appraised its deepwater Abu Sir discovery in the West Mediterranean Concession. The Abu Sir-2X, drilled in 3,373 ft. of water, reached a total depth of 13,162 ft. It encountered a 134-ft. gas column in Pliocene sediments between 6,680 and 6,814 ft., with 84 net ft. of gas pay. Additionally, Miocene sands between 12,250 and 13,162 ft. had gas shows, and logs indicated approximately 100 net ft. of possible pay. Apache has plugged the well back to produce the shallower interval, and intends to evaluate the deeper section in future wells. The Houston-based company operates the concession and holds a 55% contractor interest; RWE Dea has 35%; and BP, 10%. 7 Algeria Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and its partners Sonatrach, Maersk Olie and Eni, have made an oil discovery on Block 404 in the Berkine Basin. The Sif Fatima South West-1 well was drilled seven miles east of Hassi Berkine South East Field to a total depth of 10,637 ft. It encountered 36 ft. of net oil pay in the TAGI reservoir, and tested at a rate of 2,689 bbl. of oil and 4.72 million cu. ft. of gas per day. Anadarko notes that it plans to spend $98 million in exploration and development activities in Algeria this year. 8 Nigeria Calgary-based Nexen Inc. reports that it has participated in two successful appraisal wells to the 2002 Usan discovery on offshore permit OPL-222. Both wells encountered significant net oil pay in multiple zones, says the company. The Usan-2, drilled two miles west of the Usan-1 discovery, tested the up-dip portion of the fault block. The Usan-3, drilled approximately a mile northwest of the discovery well, tested a separate fault block. One zone in the Usan-3 tested 5,600 bbl. of oil per day under restricted flow conditions. Nexen has a 20% interest in OPL-222, which is operated by TotalFinaElf; other partners are ExxonMobil Corp. and ChevronTexaco. The partners also plan to shortly spud another well on the block to appraise the 1998 Ukot discovery. 9 Equatorial Guinea Amerada Hess has drilled a successful confirmation well on its offshore Block G license in the Rio Muni Basin. The G-13-2, some 2.3 miles south of the G-13-1 discovery well, was drilled to a total depth of 12,565 ft. in 2,625 ft. of water. It encountered 397 ft. of net oil pay. The company plans additional appraisal drilling. 10 Yemen Tulsa-based Vintage Petroleum Inc. says its An Nagyah-3 test, on the 850,000-acre S-1 Damis block, was successful. The well, the fourth in the company's current drilling program in Yemen, was drilled to a total depth of 4,238 ft. A Lower Lam sand interval between 3,346-3,508 ft. flowed at the rate of 205 bbl. of oil, 25 bbl. of water and 80,000 cu. ft. of gas per day. Additionally, logs indicate that the Upper Lam sand, which had tested oil in a previous well, is gas productive. Vintage, which is actively appraising the extent of its Al Nagyah accumulation, owns a 75% working interest in the S-1 Damis block. 11 Bangladesh Moulavi Bazar Field is slated to be developed by Unocal Corp. to supply Bangladesh's domestic market. The onshore field, which will be capable of producing 100 million cu. ft. of gas per day, would include two development wells. It is on Block 14 in the Sylhet district, in the northeastern part of the country. The cost for the project, in which Unocal has a 100% working interest, is estimated at $42 million. Unocal says the field holds gross resource potential of more than 440 billion cu. ft. of gas. 12 China An oil discovery has been made by CNOOC Ltd. in Bohai Bay. The BZ 34-1S-1 flowed about 740 bbl. of oil a day on a 1/4-in. choke during two drillstem tests. Logs indicated approximately 140 ft. of pay. The test is about three kilometers southeast of BZ 34-2 Field. Additionally, CNOOC reported success on its BZ 34-4-4 and BZ 34-6W-1 tests, drilled on nearby structures. According to the company, those wells also penetrated oil-bearing formations. 13 Brunei A production-sharing agreement for Block J in offshore Brunei Darussalam has been signed by TotalFinaElf. The French major will operate the block and hold a 60% interest; BHP Billiton will have 25%; Amerada Hess, 15%. The 5,000-square-kilometer block is in 800 to 2,100 meters of water. 14 Australia The Stybarrow-1, an exploration well drilled by BHP Billiton in the Exmouth Sub-basin offshore Western Australia, is a success. The well, drilled in 825 meters of water on permit WA-255-P, encountered 18.6 meters of net oil column in the Macedon Sandstone. BHP Billiton owns a 50% interest and is the operator of WA-255-P, and Woodside Energy Ltd. holds the other 50%. The partners now plan to spud the Eskdale-1 some 13 kilometers north of the Stybarrow-1.

Comments