Worldwide Field Development News Aug 10 – Aug 16, 2012

This week the SubseaIQ team added 4 new projects and updated 29 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.

N. America – US GOM

Teikoku Oil Acquires Lucius Stake

Aug 15, 2012 – Inpex Corporation announced that through its subsidiary, Teikoku Oil, it has agreed to acquire a 7.2 percent participating interest in the Lucius project which includes portions of Keathley Canyon blocks 874, 875, 918 and 919 in the deepwater of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, from a subsidiary of Anadarko Petroleum Corporation. After the joint venture agreement is finalized, the Lucius project will continue to be operated by Anadarko with a 27.8% participating interest, with the following companies participating: Plains (23.331%), Exxon Mobil (15%), Apache (11.669%), Petrobras (9.6%), Inpex (7.2 %) and Eni (5.4%). Anadarko and co-ventures made a Final Investment Decision (FID) to develop this project in December 2011, and the first production of crude oil and natural gas is expected to start in the latter half of 2014. Crude oil and natural gas pumped from the Lucius project will be processed with a truss spar floating facility with the capacity to produce in excess of 80,000 bopd and 450 MMcf/d. Processed crude oil and natural gas will then be exported to onshore facilities in Louisiana via a subsea pipeline.

Project Details: Lucius

Newfield to Explore Dalmatian South in GOM

Aug 13, 2012 – Murphy Oil announced plans to drill two to four exploration wells in 2012 and 2013 in DeSoto Canyon Block 134 in the Gulf of Mexico. The company is targeting various Miocene prospects, including the Dalmatian South prospect, which is very similar to their 2010 Dalmatian North discovery. Furthermore, Murphy has received official sanction of a three-well subsea tie-back of the Dalmatian field to the Petronius compliant tower production platform.

Project Details: Dalmatian South

BMT to Supply EFMS for Big Foot TLP

Aug 10, 2012 – Chevron has awarded a contract to BMT Scientific Marine Services to provide an Environmental and Facilities Monitoring System (EFMS) for the Chevron-operated Big Foot tension leg platform (TLP) in the 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. Big Foot is currently under development and is expected to commence production in 2014.

Project Details: Big Foot

Australia

3D Oil to Explore Sea Lion Prospect Offshore Australia

Aug 15, 2012 – 3D Oil Limited announced plans to explore its Sea Lion prospect in permit area VIC/P57 offshore Australia. The prospect has prospective resources of 20.7 million barrels of oil in the same reservoir units as West Seahorse.

Project Details: Sea Lion (3D Oil)

3D Oil Moves Forward with West Seahorse Development

Aug 15, 2012 – 3D Oil has agreed to a $28 million farm-in deal with Hibiscus Petroleum to allow the progression of the West Seahorse development in permit VIC/P57, offshore Victoria. The agreement is subject to approval from Hibiscus’ shareholders and the Foreign Investment Review Board. It also requires a waiver from the Australian Securities Exchange. Under the agreement, Hibiscus will take a 50.1 percent operating stake in VIC/P57. The funding from Hibiscus will be used to kick-start the development of the West Seahorse oil field, which involves the drilling of up to two appraisal wells. In addition, the joint venture is exploring the possibilities of building a mobile offshore production unit (MOPU) and a floating, storage and offtake tanker, which will be moored to a buoy.

Project Details: West Seahorse

NZOG Relinquishes PEP 38259

Aug 10, 2012 – NZOG stated that after an extensive technical review the joint venture partners of PEP 38259 in the Canterbury Basin have agreed that the permit will be relinquished back to the Crown. NZOG holds a 40% stake in PEP 38259 with Beach Petroleum (NZ) Pty Ltd holding 35% and AWE New Zealand Pty Ltd 25% respectively.

Project Details: Barque

Africa – West

Subsea 7 to Supply, Install Subsea Components for Lianzi Development

Aug 16, 2012 – Subsea 7 has won a contract to supply and install subsea components for the development of the Lianzi field offshore Congo and Angola. The contract’s technical specifications include a 12-inch wet, insulated production flowline with direct electrical heating that will set a record for the deepest electrically-heated pipe. A part of the contract will be designed and fabricated in Luanda, with additional work carried out roughly 200 miles (322 kilometers) away in Lobito by Subsea 7’s Angolan joint venture. All flowlines will be spooled to the Seven Oceans rigid reel-lay ship at Subsea 7’s Luanda base. The $2 billion development will include a subsea production system and a 27-mile (43-kilometer) electrically heated flowline to transport the oil from the field to the BBLT platform. First oil is expected in 2015.

Project Details: BBLT

Europe – North Sea

EnQuest Working Through Kraken Concept Selection Phase

Aug 16, 2012 – EnQuest reported that during the first half of 2012, the company has been working through the concept selection phase of the Kraken development, with significant technical facilities and subsurface work underway. New 3D seismic survey material has been acquired, with initial interpretation nearing completion. The project remains on track for FDP submission in 1H 2013.

Project Details: Kraken

Ithaca Completes Drilling of Hurricane Well

Aug 15, 2012 – Ithaca Energy has completed the drilling of the Hurricane appraisal well in the Greater Stella area of the Central North Sea and is now proceeding to conduct a drill stem test. The Hurricane well (29/10b-8) was drilled to a total measured depth of 10,779 feet (3,285 meters) to appraise hydrocarbon bearing sands in the eastern lobe of the Hurricane structure closure. Logs indicate that the well has encountered hydrocarbons, which Ithaca said could be liquid-rich gas, in both the Rogaland and Andrew sands. Pressure and fluid sampling has been undertaken across both reservoir and sand intervals, and an initial DST will be conducted over the Andrew sand interval. Ithaca stated that the overall development work program for its Stella and Harrier fields were progressing as planned, with all major operational contracts in place following the Technip contract.

Project Details: Stella/Harrier

Apache Appraises Aviat Gas Discovery

Aug 13, 2012 – Apache is using the Rowan Gorilla VII (450′ ILC) to drill its Aviat appraisal well. This appraisal well is designed to assess whether this shallow gas field can provide fuel to operate the Forties Field to offset diesel import. Drilling is expected to take a little over three months.

Project Details: Aviat

Clipper South Comes Online

Aug 13, 2012 – RWE Dea has delivered first gas from the Clipper South development in the UK sector of the North Sea. The field contains around 13.4 Bcm of gas in place. The first Clipper South well came on stream at initial rates of 1.2 MMcm/d with production expected to peak at 2.8 MMc/d in early 2013. The gas is located in a tight Permian age Rotliegend reservoir which contains about 3.4 Bcm of gas in place. The Clipper South Gas field lies in the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) blocks 48/19 and 48/20, 62 miles (100 kilometers) east of the Lincolnshire coast. Gas from the Clipper South platform is transported about 9 miles (15 kilometers) to the Lincolnshire Offshore Gas Gathering System (LOGGS) and then about 62 miles (100 kilometers) to the onshore Theddlethorpe Gas Terminal in Lincolnshire, where the gas enters the UK grid.

Project Details: Clipper South

Heerema to Fabricate, Commission Topsides for Cygnus Development

Aug 13, 2012 – Heerema Fabrication Group has received a frame contract from GDF Suez E&P UK for the fabrication and commissioning of four topsides for the Cygnus gas field development in the UK sector of the North Sea. Fabrication of the Cygnus Alpha Wellhead topsides is due to start in December 2012 with completion scheduled for March 2014. This is to be followed by expected commencement of fabrication in June 2013 of the Cygnus Alpha processing & utilities module, bridges and flare as well as the Cygnus Bravo Wellhead topsides — all scheduled for completion in April 2015. Subsequently in December 2013, the fabrication of the Cygnus Alpha compression module will start, which will also be ready for installation onto the PU topsides in 2015.

Project Details: Cygnus

Eni Spuds Salina Prospect

Aug 13, 2012 – Eni has commenced drilling of well 7220/10-1 in PL 533 at the Salina prospect (formerly Pulk) in the Barents Sea. The main objective of the well is to prove the presence of hydrocarbons in the reservoir.

Project Details: Salina

Det norske Comes Up Dry in Ulvetanna Prospect

Aug 13, 2012 – Det norske is in the process of completing the drilling of well 3/4-2S on the Ulvetanna prospect. The objective of the well was to prove petroleum in Cretaceous reservoir rock. The estimated main reservoir, the Tor formation, was encountered in the well, but contained no hydrocarbons. The Ulvetanna prospect is situated in PL 356 in the southern part of the North Sea in 167 feet (51 meters) of water.

Project Details: Ulvetanna

Lundin to Recommence Drilling Operations at Albert in 3Q 2012

Aug 10, 2012 – Lundin Petroleum reported that the Bredford Dolphin (mid-water semisub) is slated to return to the Albert field location (PL 519) in 3Q 2012 to finish drilling operations. The exploratory well was spud and temporarily suspended in June because the semisub needed to be reclassified. The main objective of the well is to test the Cretaceous and Triassic age sandstones of a multiple target structure.

Project Details: Albert

DONG Continues with Oselvar Development

Aug 10, 2012 – DONG Energy is continuing to develop the Oselvar field, in Production License 274, in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. Production from the field commenced in April, but the production ramp up has been slower than expected, stated Noreco, a partner in the field. The third and final production well was completed and tested in June, and the drilling rig has left the location. The field is currently producing from two wells and the third well is expected to come online during 3Q 2012. Thus far, the field has produced on average of 3,608 boepd.

Project Details: Oselvar

S. America – Venezuela

Perla to Hit 300MMcf/d by 2014

Aug 16, 2012 – Petroleos de Venezuela expects to reach its goal of producing about 300 MMcf/d of natural gas at its Perla field by 4Q 2013. Dow Jones reported that PdVSA had pushed back the estimated start of production at Perla to the first quarter of 2013 from its earlier estimate of the end of this year. It didn’t cite a reason for the delay.

Project Details: Perla

S. America – Brazil

Statoil Selects RDA for Peregrino FEED Work

Aug 16, 2012 – Statoil has selected RDS to perform the Front End Engineering Design (FEED) for a fixed drilling rig, which will be part of the Peregrino phase II project. Peregrino commenced production in March 2011 and produces about 75,000 bopd.

Project Details: Peregrino

Petrobras Drills Ahead in Carcara to Determine Total Thickness of Oil Reservoir

Aug 15, 2012 – Petrobras is currently testing the Carcara prospect, exploratory well 4-SPS-86B (4-BRSA-971-SPS), on Block BM-S-8 in the ultra-deep waters of the pre-salt area in the Santos Basin. The operator is inside the oil zone at a depth of 20,384 feet (6,213 meters) to determine the total thickness of the oil reservoirs, as well as the presence of deeper pay zones. Oil samples were collected at a depth of 20,115 feet (6,131 meters), which have proven a good 31 degree API oil quality, stated the operator. The well has also proven that the carbonate reservoirs carry outstanding porosity and permeability characteristics. The in-progress drilling has confirmed over 1,312-foot (400-meter) column of oil, featuring mostly continuous and connected reservoirs.

Project Details: Carcara

Related articles

• Gulf of Mexico: INPEX Buys Lucius Stake (USA) (mb50.wordpress.com)
• Worldwide Field Development News Aug 3 – Aug 9, 2012 (mb50.wordpress.com)
• Recap: Worldwide Field Development News Jul 27 – Aug 2, 2012 (mb50.wordpress.com)
• McDermott Bags Offshore Installation Gig in U.S. GOM (mb50.wordpress.com)
• WWCS, DOF Subsea Conduct Subsea Services in US Gulf Of Mexico (mb50.wordpress.com)