Worldwide Field Development News Aug 3 – Aug 9, 2012

This week the SubseaIQ team added 3 new projects and updated 21 projects. You can see all the updates made over any time period via the Project Update History search. The latest offshore field develoment news and activities are listed below for your convenience.

Mediterranean

Petroceltic Gears Up for Italy Drilling

Aug 9, 2012 – Petroceltic International is expecting to drill a well in Italy next year, reported Dow Jones Newswires. In 2010, the company planned to drill an appraisal well on the Elsa discovery in the Central Adriatic, but plans were shelved when Italy banned offshore drilling in reaction to the Macondo incident in the Gulf of Mexico. With the ban now lifted, the company is hopeful a well can be drilled in 2013. “When the Italy ban came in, we were within months of spudding an appraisal well on the Elsa field, which is an old oil discovery of somewhere between 30 million and 180 million barrels, made by ENI S.p.A. in 1992. We have a CPR [competent person’s report] that says the most likely oil-in-place is a couple of hundred million barrels,” the Chief Executive Brian O’Cathain said in a statement. Before it starts drilling, however, the company has to reapply for a permit, but Mr. O’Cathain believes that the current government is very favorably disposed towards restarting exploration and production activities.

Project Details: Elsa

Australia

Eni to Appraise Heron

Aug 7, 2012 – Eni Australia has confirmed that it will take over the ENSCO 109 (350′ ILC) jackup on August 15, and after an anticipated four-day tow, the operator expects the rig to arrive at the Heron South-1 location on or around August 19. The operator will then appraise the find, which is part of the work program Eni has agreed to complete in order to earn a 50 percent participating interest in the permit. Eni has 60 days after the well to elect to either drill a second Heron well or withdraw from participation in the Heron area.

Project Details: Heron

New Crux JV to Accelerate Exploration of Offshore Crux Field

Aug 3, 2012 – Nexus Energy has inked an agreement with Shell and Osaka Gas following board approvals Friday to form a new joint venture which will accelerate the exploration and development of the Crux gas and condensate field offshore Western Australia. The final agreement was formally signed and executed. The agreement sees Shell taking its place as the operator of the production license AC/L9 with an 80 percent interest. Nexus and Osaka Gas hold a 17 percent and 3 percent interest respectively. The agreement also provides Nexus with a 12 month put option to sell 2 percent of its equity interest in the JV to Shell for $78.6 million (AUD75 million). Nexus said in a statement that the JV will initially focus on converting the existing AC/L9 offshore production license into a retention lease. This will require a detailed work program, which include technical studies of a range of development options, including a standalone development concept, and exploration drilling of the Auriga prospect targeted for early 2014. The development options currently under consideration for the Crux field include a tie-in to Shell’s Prelude floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) vessel or a standalone FLNG project.

Project Details: Prelude

N. America – US GOM

Apache Concludes Drilling on Parmer Prospect

Aug 9, 2012 – Apache has completed drilling operations on the Parmer prospect in Green Canyon Block 823 in the Gulf of Mexico. The well has been logged, and pressure readings and fluid samples have been taken in several Miocene objective sands. Thus far, data indicates approximately 240 feet (73 meters) of net condensate-rich gas pay in two gas sands are full to base, as well as 40 feet (12 meters) of net oil pay in two sands. Both have encountered oil on water. The partners plan to analyze the data and develop a forward plan.

Project Details: Parmer

W&T Completes Development Wells at Matterhorn

Aug 8, 2012 – W&T Offshore reported that the A-4 ST at the Matterhorn field began producing approximately 3,190 boepd net in mid-June and the A-13 at Mahogany began producing approximately 1,640 boepd net in late May. During the second quarter, the company commenced drilling the A-5 ST well at Mahogany, and is now currently completing the well. W&T expects to bring the A-5 ST online later this week with projected initial production rates of approximately 925 boepd net to the company. Following the A-5 ST well at Mahogany, the company expects to drill the A-9 ST development well to further develop the P sand south of the A-5 ST during the third quarter. Following the A-9 ST well, W&T anticipates moving to another development drill well for a possible spud date in the fourth quarter followed by completion in early 2013.

Project Details: Matterhorn

McDermott Awarded Spar Hull Installation Contract for Tubular Bells

Aug 6, 2012 – McDermott International announced that one of its subsidiaries received a contract by Williams Partners for transportation and installation services for a spar hull in the Gulf of Mexico. The company will transport and install the Gulfstar FPS GS-1 spar hull and moorings. The spar platform will be moored on the Tubular Bells development, situated about 150 miles (241 kilometers) offshore, on Mississippi Canyon Block 683 and 726 in a water depth of 4,200 feet (1,280 meters). McDermott’s DB50 vessel will install the moorings before transporting the classic-design spar hull to the installation site where it will be upended and ballasted before installing a temporary work deck. The offshore campaign is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2013.

Project Details: Tubular Bells

Europe – East

Statoil Divests Shtokman Interest

Aug 9, 2012 – Statoil reported that it has divested its 24 percent stake in the consortium developing the Shtokman gas field after the agreement lapsed, but the company remains interested in the project. The initial agreement, in which Russia’s OAO Gazprom held a controlling 51 percent stake and France’s Total SA 25 percent in the consortium, expired at the end of June with the three companies failing to agree on technical and financial plans to develop the massive gas field.

Project Details: Shtokman

Africa – West

Harvest Natural Lines Up Rig for Tortue Prospect Offshore Gabon

Aug 9, 2012 – Panoro Energy announced that operator Harvest Natural Resources has secured the use of a semisub to drill the Tortue prospect in the Dussafu Marin Permit offshore Gabon. The drilling unit, the Scarabeo 3 (mid-water semisub), is expected to commence drilling operations in 4Q 2012. The Tortue Marin well will be located about 31 miles (50 kilometers) offshore Gabon and 9 miles (15 kilometers) southeast of the 2011 Ruche discovery in 380 feet (116 meters) water depth. The well targets pre-salt Gamba and mid-Dentale reservoirs and a secondary post-salt Madiela reservoir. When combining these reservoirs the Tortue prospect has, according to the operator, consolidated mean prospective resources of 28 MMbbls with 56 percent geological chance of success.

Project Details: Tortue

Murphy to Drill Azurite Sidetrack Well

Aug 8, 2012 – PA Resources reported that following a full evaluation of remedial options to replace or reinstate the earlier communicated failed production well at the Azurite field in the Republic of Congo, the joint venture has agreed to drill a sidetrack. Preparatory activities have commenced and drilling operations are expected to start in early 4Q 2012 and take several months to complete. The Azurite field commenced production in August 2009.

Project Details: Azurite

S. America – Other & Carib.

CX-15 Platform En Route to Corvina Field

Aug 7, 2012 – BPZ Energy announced that the world’s first buoyant tower drilling and production platform is en route to the Corvina field for installation offshore Peru. The CX-15 platform was safely completed and successfully delivered to BPZ Energy at Wison Offshore & Marine’s China-fabrication facility in 11 months from contract signature. Wison’s scope included the engineering, procurement and construction of the facility’s 2,500 ton buoyant tower hull and 1,500 ton topsides facility. The buoyant tower hull for the facility was designed and engineered through a joint venture between Wison affiliate, Horton Wison Deepwater, and GMC Limited and consists of four, ring-stiffened connected cylindrical tubes with one central suction pile. Each cell measures 26 feet (8 meters) in diameter and 197 feet (60 meters) long, with a total hull length, including suction pile, of 230 feet (70 meters). When installed, the buoyant tower will support the three-level topsides facility designed by Audubon Engineering and GMC Limited and equipped to produce 12,200 barrels per day of oil, 12.8 million standard cubic feet per day of gas and inject 3,500 barrels per day of water. Additionally, the facility will be capable of supporting a drilling rig with 24 well slots. The CX-15 drilling program, which is the second platform installation at the Corvina field, will target 23 million barrels of proved undeveloped reserves (PUD).

Project Details: Corvina

S. America – Brazil

Petrobras Discovers Oil at Pecem Prospect

Aug 8, 2012 – Petrobras has verified the presence of oil in the Ceara Basin during drilling operations of the 1-BRSA-1080-CES (1-CES-158) well. The well, commonly known as Pecem, is located in a water depth of 6,985 feet (2,129 meters). The well’s current depth is 14,469 feet (4,410 meters) and drilling will continue to a total depth of 18,045 feet (5,500 meters). The consortium will continue the operations until the estimated depth is met.

SBM Offshore Secures Financing to Build Cidade de Ilhabela FPSO

Aug 8, 2012 – SBM Offshore and its JV partners QGOG Constellation and Mitsubishi Corporation have secured a US $1.05 billion to finance the construction of the Cidade de Ilhabela FPSO. The loan will be repaid over a 10-year period starting at first oil, which is expected in September 2014 and benefit from a competitive pricing package arranged on a club deal basis with reputable international commercial banks. The vessel will be moored on the Sapinhoa field in 7,024 feet (2,141 meters) of water.

Project Details: Sapinhoa (Guara)

Asia – SouthEast

Lundin Spuds Berangan Well in Malaysian Campaign

Aug 3, 2012 – Lundin Petroleum has commenced the second well in its 2012 Malaysian drilling campaign with the spud of Berangan-1 exploration well in SB 303 Block, offshore Malaysia. The well will target hydrocarbons in mid-Miocene aged sands in a faulted anticline in an undrilled sub-basin 6 miles (10 kilometers) to the southeast of the Tarap gas discovery made by Lundin Petroleum in 2011. The Offshore Courageous (350′ ILC) jackup is drilling a vertical well to a depth of 5,577 feet (1700 meters) in approximately 230 feet (70 meters) water depth.

Project Details: Berangan

Europe – North Sea

AMEC to Perform Detailed Design Contract for Cygnus Project

Aug 7, 2012 – AMEC has received a detailed design contract from GDF Suez for the Cygnus gas field development in the UK sector of the North Sea. The detailed design contract, following the FEED work, starts immediately and is scheduled for completion in 2014. The detailed development concept for the Cygnus field consists of two drilling centers, four platforms and initially 10 development wells; the planned export route is through the ETS (Esmond Transportation System) pipeline system to the Bacton gas terminal in North Norfolk. First gas is expected in late 2015.

Project Details: Cygnus

GDF Suez Sanctions Cygnus Development

Aug 7, 2012 – GDF Suez has officially sanctioned the Cygnus project to develop the sixth largest gas field in the UK sector of the North Sea. The consortium has signed initial contracts, which will kick start the project, and plan to award major contracts soon. Production is expected to start in late 2015. The field is expected to meet demand for nearly one and a half million homes at peak production, accounting for around 5% of the UK’s gas production. GDF stated that the partnership welcomed the recent field allowance for new large shallow water gas fields by the UK Government, which proved the certainty and confidence to proceed with the development.

Project Details: Cygnus

Providence Eyes Dromberg Prospect

Aug 7, 2012 – Providence Resources has issued a technical report on its Dromberg prospect, offshore Ireland, indicating its potential as a hydrocarbon target. Drombeg, which was awarded to Providence and its partner Sosina Exploration as Licensing Option 11/9 in the 2011 Irish Atlantic Margin Licensing Round, is located approximately 140 miles (225 kilometers) off West Cork in 8,200 feet (2,499 meters) of water. The prospect is targeting a Lower Cretaceous zone, demonstrating a significant seismic amplitude anomaly and low seismic impedance as well as a market AVO (amplitude versus offset) response. Providence added that it has also identified an underlying second seismic anomaly that has been modeled to be consistent with hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone.

Project Details: Dromberg

Total Spuds Garantiana

Aug 7, 2012 – Total has commenced drilling at the Garantiana prospect, exploratory well 34/6-2S, in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. The well is being drilled by the Borgland Dolphin (mid-water semisub), and is targeting stacked Jurassic/Triassic reservoirs. The water depth of the site is 1,247 feet (380 meters).

Project Details: Garantiana

Total: Elgin Cement Plug In Place by Mid-September

Aug 6, 2012 – Total reported that it expects to install a cemet plug, designed to seal a well, at its Elgin North Sea platform. Since the leak was stopped mid-May, Total and its contractors “have now restarted the essential safety and support systems on board the Elgin complex and the adjacent Rowan Viking (430′ ILC) drilling rig,” the company said in a statement.

Project Details: Elgin/Franklin

Related articles

• Hercules Offshore Buys More Shares in Discovery Offshore S.A. (mb50.wordpress.com)
• Offshore Drilling: Sneaky Sneaky Administration (mb50.wordpress.com)
• Recap: Worldwide Field Development News Jul 27 – Aug 2, 2012 (mb50.wordpress.com)

BMT to Provide EFMS Services for Chevron’s Big Foot TLP (USA)

Chevron has awarded a contract to BMT Scientific Marine Services Inc (BMT) to provide an Environmental and Facilities Monitoring System (EFMS) for the Chevron operated Big Foot Tension Leg Platform (TLP) at the Big Foot field in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

“The EFMS monitors, logs and displays data in real-time on the local environment and facility motions. It archives the data for assessing the TLP’s integrity over time and interfaces with the facility’s other platform control systems,” explains BMT in a press release.

The Big Foot EFMS will measure factors such as wind speed and direction, platform position, wave frequency and high frequency platform motions, air gap, surface currents and draft.

A TLP is a vertically moored floating structure suited for use in a wide range of water depths.

The Big Foot TLP will be Chevron’s sixth operated facility in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico and will be located approximately 225 miles south of New Orleans. The TLP will include an on-board drilling rig and will have a production capacity of 75,000 barrels of oil and 25 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. Installation of the TLP is scheduled to begin in November 2012 and first oil is expected in 2014.

Source

Related articles

• USA: AGR Signs Two Agreements with Chevron (mb50.wordpress.com)

Zarubezhneft Getting Ready for Drilling Offshore Cuba

Russia’s Zarubezhneft is getting ready to begin its oil and gas exploration campaign offshore Cuba.

Songa Mecur, the semi-submersible rig to be used for the campaign, is expected to arrive to Trinidad next week, where it will undergo preparations work before setting sail to Cuban waters.

The drilling program is expected to start in November.

Zarubezhneft in 2009 signed production sharing contracts with the communist country’s oil company Cubapetroleo for two offshore blocks located in the Cuban sector of the Gulf of Mexico. In the upcoming exploration campaign the company hopes to unlock hydrocarbons hidden in Cuba’s offshore Block L.

Cuba estimates that its offshore fields hold approximately 20 billion barrels of oil, which could, once unlocked provide a major boost to its economy.

In May this year, the Spanish oil company, Repsol, after a failed attempt to discover oil in a well offshore Cuba, decided to abandon any further offshore drilling plans in the Caribbean nation’s waters.

Earlier this week,  Cubapetróleo (Cupet) informed the local media that Catoche 1X well drilling offshore Cuba was unsuccessful. The well was drilled by a consortium established by Malaysia’s Petronas and Russia’s Gazprom. The consortium then released the Scarabeo 9 rig to Venezuela’s PDVSA which will try it’s luck at the Cabo de San Antonio 1x offshore well.

Source

Related articles

• Petronas, PDVSA Searching for Oil Offshore Cuba (mb50.wordpress.com)