LEASE SALE DISPLAYS POWER OF THE GULF

A message from Executive Director Lori LeBlanc

The oil and gas industry demonstrated its confidence in the power of American energy during the federal government’s Central Gulf of Mexico lease sale held March 19 in New Orleans. In fact, a total of 50 companies submitted 380 bids, and the Department of Interior garnered $850 million in high bids for about 1.7 million acres off the coast of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. This signals a continued strong business interest in offshore energy production.

It’s this confidence in the valuable resources of America’s Gulf that continues to drive our national and state economy, fund the U.S. government, employ hundreds of thousands of men and women across our country, and keep the lights on from Portland, Oregon, to Portland, Maine. Here in Louisiana, we proudly serve as the gateway to the Gulf, the front door to the boundless energy potential miles off of our coast and thousands of feet under the water’s surface. We proudly do a job that other states refuse to do; a job that literally fuels America.

GEST is pleased to help promote this rebirth of the Gulf as America’s energy workhorse, as well as the thousands of men and women who go to work each day to provide power to our people.

Hats off to all of you!

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Williams Partners: Gulfstar One spar nears completion (VIDEO)

Williams Partners L.P. reported key construction milestones and progress on a tieback expansion as its proprietary Gulfstar FPS™ (Floating Production System) nears completion in the eastern deepwater Gulf of Mexico. The Gulfstar One project is the first spar-based floating production system with major components built entirely in the United States.

“Williams Partners’ made-in-America Gulfstar One is 21,500 tons of proof that American engineering and construction are alive and well. The hull of the floating production system was towed out and positioned in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico before the topside platform was installed in March 2014.” the company said in a press release.

After mooring the floating spar to the ocean floor in February, crews in March lifted and installed Gulfstar’s three-level topside structure. The floating production system is moored 135 miles southeast of New Orleans in about 4,000 feet of water. It will serve as a hub that aggregates production and then combines production handling services with oil and gas export pipeline services, which feed Williams’ downstream oil and gas gathering and processing services.

Once operational, the Gulfstar’s base design will produce up to 60,000 barrels of oil per day and 135 million standard cubic feet of gas per day with additional tieback capacity. With hook-up and commissioning activities currently underway, Gulfstar is on schedule to start serving anchor customers in the third quarter of 2014 and Gunflint in 2016.

In addition to previously announced anchor commitments, Gulfstar in January executed agreements with Gunflint field owners Noble Energy, Inc., Ecopetrol America Inc., Marathon Oil Company and Samson Offshore, LLC. The Gunflint tieback is designed and engineered with modifications expected to be completed after the base Gulfstar project is completed.

“Landing this Gunflint tieback before first oil is received from the anchor tenants demonstrates the promise of the Gulfstar model for producers, both economically and technically,” said Rory Miller, senior vice president of Williams’ Atlantic-Gulf operating area. “As a midstream company, Williams is focused on infrastructure solutions of this nature that connect the best supplies with highest-value markets. Gulfstar is one of approximately $4.5 billion in large-scale projects we expect to bring into service in 2014 and 2015.”

Major components of the Gulfstar were built entirely in the United States, creating approximately 1,000 domestic jobs and allowing quick parts replacement and reduced platform downtime. Gulf Marine Fabricators built the hull in Aransas Pass, Texas and Gulf Island Fabrication, Inc. constructed the topsides in Houma, La.

“Gulfstar provides a complete ‘floating production system to market clearing point’ solution for producers in the Gulf for their oil, gas and liquids production, designed specifically to maximize their net present value and minimize risk,” said Mark Cizek, Gulfstar Project Director. “The ‘design one, build many’ construction concept allows for standardized design options and enhanced safety and reliability of each unit. The repeatable concept also increases speed to market.”

Williams Partners developed the Gulfstar One project and it has a 51 percent ownership interest. Marubeni Corporation has a 49 percent interest in the Gulfstar One project.

Source

Williams Partners Reports Execution Progress on Gulfstar One

Worldwide Field Development News Mar 15 – Mar 21, 2014

This week the SubseaIQ team added 5 new projects and updated 15 projects. You can see all the updates made over any time period via the Project Update History search. The latest offshore field development news and activities are listed below for your convenience.

Europe – North Sea OMV Increases Presence in West of Shetlands Mar 21, 2014 – OMV is increasing its interest in the UK North Sea through an agreement to acquire 4 Hess-operated licenses in the West of Shetlands area. For a consideration of $50 million, OMV will gain operatorship of license P1028 and P1189 (the Cambo discovery), P1830 (the Blackrock prospect) and P1831. Future discoveries in the acreage could necessitate an additional payment to Hess of $35 million. With the acquisition of the Cambo field, OMV gains almost 60 MMboe of recoverable resources. Blackrock, scheduled for drilling in 2015, is located between Cambo and the Chevron-operated Rosebank development. The agreement is subject to UK regulatory approval. Project Details: Cambo Australia ConocoPhillips Continues Browse Basin Drilling Program with Poseidon North-1 Mar 21, 2014 – The Transocean Legend (mid-water semisub), under contract to ConocoPhillips, spud the Poseidon North-1 well in permit WA-315-P March 19. Poseidon North is located on the crest of a large tilted fault block with primary targets in the Plover and Montara formations. Poseidon North-1 is a continuation of the current 6-well Browse Basin Phase 2 drilling program with 4 of the 6 wells having already been completed. If successful, the well could greatly add to the resource base of the Greater Poseidon. ConocoPhillips and its partner, Karoon Gas Australia, hold 60% and 40% interest in the permit respectively. Project Details: Poseidon Downhole Issues Force AWE to Sidetrack Pateke-4H Mar 19, 2014 – AWE Limited, operator of New Zealand permit area PMP 38158, reported the mechanical drill string difficulties it experienced last week while drilling Pateke-4H were unable to be resolved. AWE has since abandoned the lower part of the hole and is preparing to sidetrack the well at 11,072 feet. From there, the well will be drilled horizontally through the F10 reservoir to a measured depth of 17,588 feet. The F10 sand was encountered on prognosis in the main well bore and oil shows along with logging data suggest the presence of an oil bearing reservoir. Any commercial significance of the oil shows cannot be determined until the horizontal leg has been completed. If the formation is found to be capable of supporting commercial production rates, the well will be completed and tied-back to the Tui FPSO with first oil in 1Q 2015. Project Details: Tui Area Development Project Asia – SouthEast Shell Strikes Oil While Appraising Limbayong Gas Discovery Mar 19, 2014 – A consortium consisting of Shell (35%), ConocoPhillips (35%) and Petronas (30%) made an oil discovery in Block J offshore Sabah, Malaysia. The discovery was made while drilling an appraisal of the 2002 Limbayong gas discovery. Limbayong-2 encountered 446 feet of oil-bearing sands. Results from the well have encouraged the partners to plan additional appraisal wells to determine the commerciality of the field. The well was drilled by the Ensco 8504 (UDW semisub). Limbayong is located in over 3,000 feet of water near the Shell-operated Gumusut development. Project Details: Limbayong Mediterranean FA-1 Spuds off Morocco Targeting Eagle Prospect Mar 20, 2014 – Fastnet Oil & Gas, a junior partner in the Foum Assaka license, announced the FA-1 well designed to target the Eagle prospect offshore Morocco was spud March 16. License operator Kosmos Energy has allowed up to three months to reach the target depth of 13,123 feet. FA-1 is targeting an estimated 360 MMboe of Pmean resources in its Lower Cretaceous objective. Kosmos contracted the Maersk Discoverer (UDW semisub) to drill the well in almost 2,000 feet of water. Project Details: FA-1 (Eagle) Cairn Announces Heavy Oil at JM-1 Offshore Morocco Mar 19, 2014 – Well JM-1 in the Juby Maritime III license offshore Morocco has been drilled to total depth by the Cajun Express (UDW semisub) and is being plugged and abandoned without testing. Cairn Energy drilled the well to explore the possibility of oil in the Upper and Middle Jurassic intervals of the Cap Juby prospect. A gross heavy oil column of 360 feet was confirmed in the Upper Jurassic section but determination of oil gravity and reservoir quality will need require further evaluation. Cores taken from the well will be compared to cores obtained from other wells drilled on the Cap Juby structure to assess the extent of moveable hydrocarbons. Sidewall cores and logging data covering the Middle Jurassic objective are being evaluated but preliminary results indicate limited primary porosity. Participants in the Juby Maritime III license consist of Cairn (37.5%), Genel Energy (37.5%) and ONHYM (25%). Project Details: Cap Juby Africa – West Nigerian DPR Approves Aje Field Development Plan Mar 21, 2014 – Panoro Energy announced the approval of the Aje Field Development Plan (FDP) by the Nigerian Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR). Aje contains productive sands in three levels consisting of a Turonian gas condensate reservoir, a Cenomanian oil reservoir and an Albian gas condensate reservoir. As submitted, the FDP focuses mainly on the development of the oil-bearing Cenomanian interval and will involve the tieback of two subsea wells to a leased FPSO. Aje-4 will be recompleted for use and a new well will be drilled to the Aje-2 subsurface location. In a 1997 flow test, Aje-2 delivered 3,700 bopd in spite of severely impaired productivity due to drilling operations. The joint venture is expected to make a final investment decision shortly. Aje is located in 3,000 feet of water in OML 113 offshore Nigeria. Interest holders include YFP (25%), Chevron (33.75%), Vitol (24.05%), Panoro (12.19%) and Jacka Resources (5%). Project Details: Aje Ophir: Padouck Deep-1 Proves Working Hycrocarbon System in North Gabon Basin Mar 21, 2014 – Ophir Energy’s exploratory well at its Padouck Deep prospect offshore Gabon has been drilled to a depth of 10,816 feet by the Titanium Explorer (UDW drillship). No evidence of hydrocarbons was observed in the primary objectives but minor shows in shallower intervals have provided proof of a working hydrocarbon system in the North Gabon Basin. Once the well is plugged and abandoned, the rig will mobilize to the Gnondo Block to test the Affanga Deep prospect which has the potential to hold mean recoverable resources of 170 million barrels. If successful, the well will substantially de-risk several surrounding prospects that could lead to a future hub development. Project Details: Padouck Deep Aibel Starts Module Fab for TEN Cluster FPSO Mar 20, 2014 – In February 2014, Aibel Thailand received a procurement and construction contract from MODEC for the fabrication of 7 topsides modules for a new-build FPSO slated for use at Tullow’s TEN Cluster development offshore Ghana. Aibel recently held a steel cutting ceremony at the Deeline fabrication shop in Thailand. The ceremony began with a traditional worship followed by blessings administered to steel, machinery, visitors and staff by Buddhist monks. Once complete, the 9,400-ton package of modules will be shipped to Singapore to be integrated with the FPSO’s hull. Completion of the last module is scheduled for April 2015. Project Details: TEN Cluster Africa – Other Way Too Early Results Indicate Hydrocarbon Discovery at Sunbird-1 Mar 20, 2014 – Total depth was reached at the BG Group-operated Sunbird-1 wildcat offshore Kenya. The well was drilled by the Deepsea Metro 1 (UDW drillship) to a depth of 9,350 feet and a hydrocarbon column was identified in the main objective, a Miocene-aged Pinnacle Reef. Extensive losses in the highly permeable upper section of the structure have hampered efforts to determine the vertical extent of the column using wireline logs. Although samples were recovered from the well, additional analysis will be needed to determine the exact nature of the hydrocarbons as well as any commercial significance of the discovery. BG serves as operator of the L10A license with 50% interest. Its partners consist of PTTEP (31.25%) and Pancontinental Oil and Gas (18.75%). Project Details: Sunbird S. America – Brazil Petrobras Begins Parque das Baleias Production with P-58 FPSO Mar 21, 2014 – Petrobras started production at its Parque das Baleias development in the Campos Basin this week. Currently, only one well is on stream but in the coming months, 14 production wells and 9 injection wells will be connected to the P-58 FPSO that was recently installed in 4,593 feet of water. The P-58 has a designed daily production capacity of 180,000 barrels and 21.2 MMscf of oil and gas. Produced oil is offloaded to shuttle tankers for transport and produced gas flows through a subsea pipeline to the onshore Cacimbas Gas Treatment Unit in Linhares, Espirito Santo. Project Details: Espadarte Asia – Far East CNOOC Makes Deepwater Gas Discovery in South China Sea Mar 21, 2014 – CNOOC recently announced a gas discovery at its deepwater Qiongdongnan Basin acreage in the South China Sea. Lingshui 17-2 was drilled in roughly 4,700 feet of water to test part of a structure known as the Lingshui Sag. The well reached a total depth of 11,515 feet and encountered 180 total feet of gas-bearing reservoir. Project Details: Lingshui 17-2

China Threatens the West As the U.S. Shows a Slight Reaction to Russian Aggression

March 13, 2014

By Sara Noble

China is warning the West to not impose sanctions on Russia because “sanctions could lead to retaliatory action, and that would trigger a spiral with unforeseeable consequences.”

Jedidiah Noble, who is not a geo-political strategist – he’s actually an engineer – predicted exactly this. If Jedidiah can make these predictions, why is it Mr. Obama can’t?

Mr. Obama has done little to stop Putin from rebuilding the Soviet Union. Putin remains in Georgia and has overtaken Crimea with barely-disguised Russian troops slipping in and out of the iron curtain they have erected between Ukraine and Crimea.

Yesterday, in a press conference with Ukraine’s PM, Mr. Obama gave Crimea away without even a whimper.

Mr. Obama gave away the missile defense shield and got nothing in return. He has drawn red lines and drawn lines without calling them red lines, but has done nothing retaliatory except move the line back.

China has been a menace to Japan and is threatening to take over sixteen islands in the East China Sea. The islands have value for their fisheries but mostly it’s a power grab by China and it will give China a strategic advantage in any military conflict. Mr. Obama has done little to nothing to support Japan.

When Russia moved into Crimea, Mr. Putin spoke with China’s leaders. He allegedly worked out some sort of deal. One can be sure that China’s imperialistic vision is part of the deal.

Russia used the imaginary threat to Russian populations living in Crimea as an excuse to go into Crimea once freedom fighters overturned the government in Ukraine. Now one can expect China to use an imaginary allegiance to Russia as an excuse for taking further steps.

In addition to our facing land grabs, we are in trouble economically if Russia and China join forces. We are deeply in debt to both Russia and China to say nothing of the fact that our dollar is threatened as the world currency.

China responded to the West threatening Russia with sanctions in this way: ”We don’t see any point in sanctions,” said Shi Mingde, China’s Ambassdor to the EU. “Sanctions could lead to retaliatory action, and that would trigger a spiral with unforeseeable consequences. We don’t want this.”

The sanctions are only travel bans and asset freezes on people and companies accused by Brussels of violating the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

Russia’s Deputy Economy Minister Alexei Likhachev responded by promising “symmetrical” sanctions by Moscow.

Mr. Obama is allegedly speaking with Beijing and working on a deal but there is no sign there will be a result favorable to the U.S. Mr. Mingh’s statement is a warning, but then again who could see that coming.

Can we even survive two more years of Mr. Obama?

Remember to vote in November!

Source

Gulf of Mexico: Petrobras: Cascade, Chinook reach 40,000 bopd mark

Brazil’s state-controlled oil company Petrobras has announced that on March 4, 2014, oil production from the Cascade and Chinook fields in the Gulf of Mexico, reached 40,000 of barrels of oil per day level.

This is a production record for the fields so far. Petrobras said that this output level was reached due to the fact that two new wells , Chinook-5 and Cascade-6, have entered into production, which added 28,000 barrels per day to the previous production level of 12,000 barrels per day.

The Cascade and Chinook fields are located in the Walker Ridge area of the Gulf of Mexico, approximately 300 km (180 miles) south of the Louisiana coast, at a distance of 24 km from each other. Water depth in the area is 2,590 m (8,500 ft).

Oil is produced through the BW Pioneer FPSO, the first floating production, storage and offloading unit approved to operate in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

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