Daily Archives: October 19, 2012
Worldwide Field Development News Oct 13 – Oct 19, 2012
This week the SubseaIQ team added 0 new projects and updated 13 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.
S. America – Brazil
Petrobras Confirms Oil at Carioca Norte
Oct 18, 2012 – Petrobras confirmed the presence of light oil in appraisal well 3-BRSA-1101-SPS, informally known as Carioca Norte, in block BM-S-9 offshore Brazil. Schahin’s Vitoria 10000 drillship drilled the well to a total depth of 18,293 feet. Results from the well are similar to three others drilled in the Carioca area. The partners in the block will now proceed with their appraisal plan which has been approved by Brazil’s ANP.
Project Details: Carioca
Australia
Shell Cuts Steel on Prelude FLNG
Oct 18, 2012 – Shell and its partners announced steel cutting for what will be the world’s first floating liquid natural gas facility. When complete, the Prelude FLNG vessel will be 1,600 feet long and 242 feet wide and will be the largest offshore floating facility ever built. Prelude will be deployed approximately 120 miles off the Australian coast in block WA-44-L serving the Prelude and Concerto fields. FLNG technology will eventually make it economical to develop gas fields that are currently considered too far from shore or to remote to produce. The facility is expected to receive first gas some time in 2017. At peak production the facility will deliver 3.6 million tons of LNG and 400,000 tons of LPG per year.
Project Details: Prelude
Oct 17, 2012 – Karoon Gas announced the Transocean Legend (mid-water semisub) has commenced testing of the Boreas-1 exploration well. Upon bringing in the well, a stabilized flow rate of 30.2 Mmscf/d was achieved through a 40/64 choke. The company notes that flow rates were limited by the surface equipment being used. Flow is being assessed from a 229-foot perforated reservoir section in the primary Plover formation at a depth of 16,089 feet. Testing should last five days with the goal of determining the overall deliverability of the primary reservoir which if a part of the Geater Poseidon structure. The next two wells in the drilling program, Zephyros-1 and Proteus-1, are designed to test the east and west flanks of Greater Poseidon Trend.
Project Details: Boreas
Africa – West
FMC Wins Pazflor Subsea Contract
Oct 19, 2012 – FMC Technologies has been awarded a $33 million equipment contract to supply three additional subsea well systems to Total for its Pazflor project offshore Angola. FMC supplied the initial deepwater production systems that have now been in operation for just over a year. Three of the four Pazflor reservoirs contain very heavy, viscous oil and relatively low reservoir pressures. Subsea separation and pumping is the key enabling technology making production of the heavy oil possible.
Project Details: Pazflor
Aker Books Deep Water Angola Work
Oct 17, 2012 – Eni, operator of block 15/06 offshore Angola, awarded a $50 million-contract to Aker Solutions to participate in the West Hub development project. Aker’s work scope will include engineering, procurement, fabrication and supply of 21 miles of static and dynamic steel tube umbilicals, as well as the associated equipment and peripherals. Delivery is booked for 1Q 2014. Once active, West Hub will draw from the Sangos, Ngoma and Cinguvu fields.
Project Details: West Hub
S. America – Other & Carib.
Rockhopper Premier Finalize Farm-Out
Oct 19, 2012 – Rockhopper announced the completion of the Premier Oil farm-out agreement. Rockhopper will receive a $231 million cash payment and Premier will obtain a 60% interest and operatorship of Rockhoppers licenses off the Falkland Islands. The cash payment will see Rockhopper’s share of Sea Lion fully funded through first oil which is expected 3Q 2017. Both companies are fully aligned on the project and expect to have a development concept by mid 2013. The partners are also discussing other Falklands area exploration prospects and a 2014 drilling campaign.
Project Details: Sea Lion
Europe – North Sea
Oct 19, 2012 – Statoil and its partners have approved the installation of a 4-slot standard template at Fram H North in the Norwegian North Sea. The template is to be tied-back via flexible pipeline to Fram West which supplies production to the Troll C platform. Installation of subsea equipment, pipelines and control cables is planned for summer 2013. The project will help maintain high flowline temperatures to avoid the use of scale wax inhibitors between Fram and Troll C. Estimates indicate Fram H contains recoverable resources of 10 Mmbeo.
Project Details: Troll Area
OMV Buys Stake in Edvard Grieg
Oct 17, 2012 – RWE Dea has elected to sell its 20% stake in the Edvard Grieg development offshore Norway to OMV for $325.2 million. A contingent payment of almost $46 million is available based on the achievement of certain operational milestones. This acquisition gives OMV access to 2P reserves in excess of 38 Mmboe and net production up to 19,000 boepd in 2016 once the field is brought on stream. The Plan of Development and Operations has already been approved by the Norwegian Parliament and all major contracts for drilling and platform construction have been awarded. OMV will share partnership with Lundin (operator 50%) and Wintershall (30%). The agreement is subject to approval by the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy and by the Norwegian Ministry of Finance.
Project Details: Edvard Grieg (Luno, Ivar Aasen) Project
Oct 16, 2012 – A scheduled maintenance shutdown of the Nexen-operated Buzzard platform in the UK North Sea has lasted longer than predicted. Nexen’s original plan was to bring the platform back online mid-October but startup will have to wait another week. The delay has resulted in one cargo being dropped from the November Forties loading program. Forties is the main component of the global benchmark Brent which is used to price most of the world’s oil. Buzzard is the largest Forties producing field and issues there tend to provide strong support to Brent oil futures.
Project Details: Buzzard
Eni To Begin Drilling At Goliat
Oct 16, 2012 – Drilling at the Eni-operated Goliat field will begin near the end of October by the Scarabeo 8 (UDW semisub). Appraisal well 7122/7-6 is expected to take 50 days to drill. A 3 ?? year development drilling phase, consisting of 22 wells drilled from 8 subsea templates, will begin upon completion of the appraisal well. The templates will eventually be tied to a circular floating production facility with an integrated loading and storage system. Total development cost of Goliat is estimated at $5.2 billion. After start-up, production is expected to plateau at 100,000 barrels per day.
Project Details: Goliat
Drilling Underway at Spaniards East
Oct 15, 2012 – Drilling operations at the Premier Oil-operated Spaniards East prospect are underway in the UK North Sea. Awilco Drilling’s WilPhoenix (mid-water semisub) is expected to be on location for roughly 40 days. The Spaniards discovery was made in 1989 and flowed 2,660 barrels per day. Spaniards East will test the down-dip potential ?? mile to the east of the discovery well. Successful results from this well could cause the partners in the license to accelerate appraisal plans for the area.
Oct 15, 2012 – Det norske and its partners announced disappointing results at the Geite prospect offshore Norway. Well 7/11-13 encountered Triassic sandstones as planned but were proved to be void of hydrocarbons. The well will now be plugged and abandoned as a dry hole.
Project Details: Geite
Asia – SouthEast
Oct 18, 2012 – Premier Oil awarded a $15 million contract to EOC Limited in relation to the upgrade of FPSO Lewek EMAS. Under the contract, EOC will provide project management, engineering and procurement services for modifications that are necessary to accommodate a subsea tie-back that will link the vessel to the nearby Dua oil field in Block 12E offshore Vietnam. The Lewek EMAS is currently in operation in the Premier-operated Chim Sao field. Once the project is completed in late 2013, the FPSO will produce both fields. All modifications will be made in the field without taking the vessel offline.
Project Details: Chim Sao
Other
Tullow Farms Into Greenland Block
Oct 15, 2012 – Greenland’s Government approved an agreement between Maersk Oil and Tullow in which Tullow will take a non-operated 40% interest in Block 9 located off the nation’s western coast. Maersk Oil will maintain operatorship of the block with 47.5% interest and state oil company Nunaoil will hold the remaining 12.5%. Block 9 is also referred to as the Tooq license and covers an area of 7,333 square miles. Decision to drill an exploration well will be made once 3D seismic is acquired and processed, which will last through 2014.
Related articles
- Steel-Cutting Commences for Shell’s Offshore Monstrosity…the Prelude FLNG Facility (gcaptain.com)
- Falklands to start producing oil by 2017 (guardian.co.uk)
- Worldwide Field Development News Sep 29 – Oct 5, 2012 (mb50.wordpress.com)
- Aker Solutions Opens Malaysian Subsea Service Base (worldmaritimenews.com)
Daewoo, Woodside in Offshore Myanmar PSC
Woodside advises that Daewoo International Corporation has accepted an offer by Woodside to farm-in to the Production Sharing Contract for Block AD-7 in the Rakhine Basin, located in the western offshore area of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar.
The offer is for a 40% participating interest in the Production Sharing Contract, and is subject to execution of fully-termed agreements, completion of due diligence, and necessary government and other approvals. Daewoo will remain operator of the PSC.
The proposal provides the opportunity for Woodside and Daewoo to undertake a 3D seismic acquisition program during the period 2013-2014. The transaction also provides the option to drill an exploration well in a subsequent exploration period.
Woodside CEO Peter Coleman said the offer demonstrated the company’s commitment to secure international growth opportunities in frontier and emerging basins that leverage Woodside’s core capabilities, especially in deepwater exploration.
“The Rakhine deep water basin is an exciting frontier exploration area and Block AD-7 is adjacent to the Daewoo-operated Shwe field development,” Coleman said.
“We are looking forward to finalising this opportunity and building a new partnership with Daewoo.”
Daewoo, Woodside in Offshore Myanmar PSC| Offshore Energy Today.
- Woodside strikes agreement in Burma (news.com.au)
- Woodside Plans to Join Daewoo in Myanmar Exploration Venture – Bloomberg (bloomberg.com)
- Myanmar army may get invite to US-Thai exercise (kansascity.com)
Apache Inks Suriname PSC
Apache Corporation today signed a production sharing contract (PSC) with Suriname’s oil company Staatsolie for offshore block 53. located in the territorial waters of the South American country.
The contract, divided into exploration, development and production phases, is valid for approximately 30 years. The parties have agreed to a minimum working program for the exploration phase, which includes geological surveys and exploration drilling. Apache will take full responsibility for all costs during the exploration phase.
If a commercial find has been made and brought into production, Apache will receive reimbursement for such costs. The contract offers Staatsolie the opportunity for a stake in the development phase of up to 20 percent.
Block 53 is located at approximately 130 kilometers off the northwest coast of Paramaribo. The exploration period under the contract is divided into two phases with a combined investment of approximately US$230 million. The duration of the first phase is scheduled for three years with an optional second phase of two and a half years. In addition to a large 3D seismic survey, two wells will be drilled in the first phase with a third well to be drilled in the optional second phase. The production sharing contract explicitly deals with inspection, safety and the environment. There are also special provisions for employment of local cadre, training, social programs and the dismantling of facilities at the end of operations.
Cal Dive Secures Saturation Diving Jobs in Mexico and Australia
Cal Dive International, Inc. announced that it has recently commenced a two-year charter of the DP saturation diving vessel Kestrel to a major contractor in Mexico to perform repair and maintenance work for Pemex.
The charter started in mid-October and has a fixed term of two years with an additional one-year option. The charter is expected to result in EBITDA of approximately $10 million per year during the two-year charter term. The vessel is expected to generate approximately break-even EBITDA in 2012.
In addition, Cal Dive has been awarded three saturation diving contracts in Australia. Two of the projects will utilize one of Cal Dive’s portable saturation diving systems while the third contract will be performed from a third party vessel utilizing a built in saturation diving system. These three contracts are expected to generate total revenue of approximately $20 million during 2013 and the first project is expected to commence in the first quarter 2013.
Quinn Hébert, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cal Dive, stated, “We are pleased to announce the saturation diving contracts in Australia and the charter of the Kestrel in Mexico. Both awards demonstrate the continued execution of our strategy to geographically diversify outside the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The charter of the Kestrel is also consistent with our strategy to commit certain assets to long-term contracts that improve visibility. The charter is of additional significance due to the EBITDA improvement it will generate in 2013.”
Cal Dive International, Inc., headquartered in Houston, Texas, is a marine contractor that provides an integrated offshore construction solution to its customers, including manned diving, pipelay and pipe burial, platform installation and platform salvage services to the offshore oil and natural gas industry on the Gulf of Mexico OCS, Northeastern U.S., Latin America, Southeast Asia, China, Australia, the Middle East, West Africa and the Mediterranean, with a diversified fleet of surface and saturation diving support vessels and construction barges.
Subsea World News – Cal Dive Secures Saturation Diving Jobs in Mexico and Australia.
McDermott Lands Two Rig Repair Contracts (Mexico)
McDermott International, Inc. has been awarded contracts to refurbish and undertake rig repair work at the McDermott Altamira fabrication facility in Tamaulipas, Mexico.
The two jack-up rigs are the Friede & Goldman L-780 Mod II design and will undergo significant improvement work to re-instate them to ABS classification. This will include steel hull, piping, machinery, and electrical renewal, as well as blasting, painting and commissioning support. Work is scheduled to begin in the last quarter of 2012.
McDermott’s Altamira fabrication facility offers an ideal location to accommodate rigs and semi-submersible hulls with its expansive 1,640-foot quayside, water depth of 41 feet and less than three nautical miles tow distance to the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.
McDermott Lands Two Rig Repair Contracts (Mexico)| Offshore Energy Today.
Continents of the World
Mb50's "Liquid Mud" Rant 