Worldwide Field Development News Oct 19 – Oct 25, 2013

This week the SubseaIQ team added 4 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 development news and activities are listed below for your convenience.

Africa – West

Lukoil Strikes Oil Offshore Sierra Leone

Oct 24, 2013 – Lukoil completed drilling the Savannah-1X wildcat in the Sl-5-11 license offshore Sierra Leone. The well was drilled on schedule by the Eirik Raude (UDW semisub) to a depth of 14,519 feet. Several oil-bearing reservoirs were confirmed and oil samples were taken from Turonian sands. Drilling data will be evaluated through the end of the year to advance the company’s geological understanding of the area.

Project Details: Savannah

Asia – Far East

CNOOC Announces Additional Bohai Bay Discoveries

Oct 24, 2013 – CNOOC announced an oil discovery at its Luda 5-2 North field in Bohai Bay. The Luda 5-2N-2 and Luda 5-2N-4 wells were each drilled to a depth of 3,740 feet and encountered gross pay zones of 390 and 280 feet respectively. Luda 5-2N-2 tested oil at a rate 1,040 barrels per day. Additionally, the company announced the successful appraisal of the Kenli 9-5/9-6 oil field. The Kenli 9-5-2D and 9-6-2 wells were drilled in the southern part of Bohai Bay. Kenli 9-6-2 flowed at a rate of 200 barrels per day.

S. America – Brazil

Petrobras-led Consortium to Develop Pre-Salt Libra Field

Oct 24, 2013 – A group of companies comprised of Petrobras, Shell, Total, CNPC and CNOOC won a 35-year production sharing contract to develop the Libra pre-salt oil field in the Santos Basin offshore Brazil. Libra is located in block BM-S-11 in 6,500 feet of water and is estimated to hold as much at 12 billion barrels of oil. Additional appraisal will be needed to determine the best development scenario and to confirm production rates that are currently estimated at 1.4 MMbopd. Petrobras will serve as the operator with a 40 percent stake on behalf of its partners Shell (20 percent), Total (20 percent), CNPC (10 percent) and CNOOC (10 percent).

Europe – North Sea

ENI’s Receives Disappointing Results at Bonna

Oct 24, 2013 – Drilling results at Eni’s Bonna prospect in the Barents Sea proved to be disappointing. Well 7016/2-1 was drilled by the Scarabeo 8 (UDW semisub) to a depth of 13,205 feet. The well was drilled to investigate the possibility of gas in the Eocene and Paleocene reservoirs of the Sotbakken Group. No reservoir-quality rocks were encountered and the well has been declared dry.

Project Details: Bonna

Asia – SouthEast

Songa Mercur Spuds Spuds ENI’s Ca Ngu Well

Oct 24, 2013 – Neon Energy announced the spud of the Ca Ngu-1 exploration well in Block 120 offshore Vietnam. The objective of the well is to prove the presence of hydrocarbons in Pliocene clastic and Miocene carbonate reservoirs. Block operator ENI secured the Songa Mercur (mid-water semisub) to drill the well in 885 feet of water to a target depth of around 4,900 feet. If successful, the well could de-risk the nearby Rua Bien and Ca Lang prospects. Block 120 partners consist of ENI (50%), Neon Energy (25%) and KrisEnergy (25%).

Project Details: Ca Ngu

Galoc-6H Flows at Expected Rate

Oct 24, 2013 – Subsea tree installation, well clean-up and flow testing of the Galoc-6H development well have successfully been completed at the Otto Energy-operated Galoc field. Galoc-6H flowed at a stable rate of 3,800 bopd on a 56/64-inch choke with a flowing tubing pressure of ~570 psi. These results were constrained by the testing equipment onboard the Ocean Patriot (mid-water semisub). Once tied into production facilities, Otto expects normal production from the well to reach 4,000 to 6,000 bopd. The 5H and 6H wells were drilled as part of the Phase II development plan which aims to increase field production to 12,000 bopd. Phase II production is scheduled to begin in November 2013.

Project Details: Galoc

S. America – Other & Carib.

Total to Proceed With Vega Pleyade Development

Oct 25, 2013 – French supermajor Total announced its decision to move forward with the development of the Vega Pleyade gas and condensate field offshore Argentina. The field is located in the Cuenca Marina Austral 1 (CMA-1) concession that Total has operated since 1978. Development consists of installing a new production platform in about 160 feet of water. Three production wells will be drilled from the platform and produced gas will flow through 48 miles of subsea pipeline to a treatment plant at Rio Cullen. In a separate initiative, Total will begin a drilling campaign in 2014 aimed at boosting production from the Carina field and providing additional appraisal in CMA-1. Total owns a 37.5 percent stake in the concession. Its partners include Wintershall (37.5 percent) and Pan American Energy (25 percent).

Project Details: Vega Pleyade

Australia

Eni Establishes Additional Resources at Evans Shoal

Oct 25, 2013 – Drilling operations are complete at the Eni-operated Evans Shoal North-1 appraisal well. The well, located in the Timor Sea, was drilled by the Ensco 104 (400′ ILC) to a depth of almost 13,000 feet. Results indicate that the Evans Shoal North-1 reservoir is in communication with the reservoir encountered while drilling Evans Shoal-2. Eni conducted a production test and achieved a constrained rate of 30 MMscfd. The operator estimates the Evans Shoal field to contain at least 8 Tcf of in place gas resources and remains committed to establishing a fast-track development in the area. Eni’s partners in the field include Shell (32.5 percent), Petronas (25 percent) and Osaka Gas (10 percent).

Project Details: Evans Shoal

ExxonMobil Flips the Switch at Tuna and Turrum

Oct 25, 2013 – ExxonMobil announced the start of production from its Kipper Tuna Turrum (KTT) project in the Bass Strait. Gas is now being produced at the Tuna field and oil is flowing from Turrum to the Marlin B production platform. At $4.3 billion, KTT is the largest domestic oil and gas development on Australia’s eastern seaboard. Production startup from the Kipper field is expected to commence in 2016.

Project Details: Kipper Tuna Turrum (KTT)

Statoil stepping up in the Arctic

Statoil is stepping up its Arctic activities and will drill nine wells during a non-stop 2013 Norwegian Barents exploration campaign. The company plans to meet development challenges here by tripling its Arctic technology research budget.

 

Statoil’s exploration experience in the Barents is already extensive. Of the 94 exploration wells drilled in the Norwegian Barents Sea so far, Statoil has been involved in 89. Nine more Statoil-operated wells are on their way here next year.

“After our Skrugard and Havis discoveries we still see attractive opportunities here,” says Statoil Exploration executive vice president Tim Dodson.

“This is a less challenging area, as the Norwegian Barents is one of the only Arctic areas with a year-round ice-free zone. We also see the possibility of utilising knowledge gained here for Arctic prospects elsewhere later on – just like we’ve already done with Snøhvit.”

Statoil will start drilling in Nunatak in the Skrugard area in December, and will drill and complete four wells in this area over a six-month period.

“These wells are time critical, as any additional resources will make the Skrugard development even more robust,” says Dodson.

The campaign will then continue with the drilling of two-three wells in the Hoop frontier exploration area further north in the Barents in the summer of 2013. These will be the northernmost wells ever drilled in Norway.

The 2013 Barents drilling campaign finishes in the most mature province of the Barents: the Hammerfest basin. Statoil will carry out growth exploration close to the existing Snøhvit and Goliat discoveries here.

Arctic drilling unit

In addition to increasing its drilling activities, Statoil has created a technology road map to prepare for activities in even harsher Arctic areas.
This includes:

• A tripling of the current Arctic research budget – from NOK 80 million (in 2012) to NOK 250 million (in 2013)
• A research cruise to north east Greenland in September
• The maturing of an Arctic drill unit concept

Some of the technology highlights include work to allow for cost-effective 3D seismic for exploration prospect evaluation in ice, and the continuing development of a tailor-made, Arctic drill unit.

The work on the future drilling unit is based on Statoil’s experience with developing specialised category rigs for the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS).

The unit will be one that can operate in a wide range of water depths across the Arctic, and will involve integrated operations in drifting ice.

Functions here are to include a management system to reduce ice impact, an optimised drilling package for faster drilling and increased rig availability, and solutions to ensure that the rig maintains its position. At present no robust solution for dynamic positioning dedicated for ice operation exists.

“When we see a technology need, we try to fill the gap ourselves. We have now directed our strategic focus towards developing technology for exploration and production in ice. A new dedicated unit has been established to solve these challenges,” says Statoil Technology, Projects and Drilling executive vice president Margareth Øvrum.

Capacity is key

“We’ve secured a five-year contract for Seadrill‘s West Hercules drilling rig. The rig is currently being prepared for Arctic conditions, and can be used to drill consecutively in the region for years to come,” Dodson says.

Broad exploration experience in the Barents Sea and available rig capacity make Statoil well prepared for the 22nd licence round on the NCS. Applications are due in early December, while the awarding of new licences will take place in spring 2013. Seventy-two blocks in the Barents will be on offer.

“The Skrugard discovery has reignited interest in the Barents. A number of major companies that had left the area will be looking to make their way back in. The competition will be fierce, but we’ve built up a strong track record here, and our application will reflect this,” Dodson says.

Source

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Happy Dragon Ships 8 Manifolds to Goliat Field Offshore Norway

Aker Solutions has successfully completed the manufacturing and subsequent load-out of eight subsea manifolds and six riser bases for Eni Norge’s Goliat project in the Barents Sea.

On Tuesday 27 March the load-out commenced. This weekend, the heavy lift vessel Happy Dragon will sail away with her giant load.

”This is probably the largest single subsea delivery we have made from Egersund. I’m proud of my colleagues, and satisfied on behalf of our customer Eni Norge AS, that we are delivering this on schedule and on budget,” says Svein Oskar Nuland, head of Aker Solutions’ yard in Egersund, Norway.

“Our project team at Fornebu and here in Egersund has worked tirelessly to complete this important milestone”.

The delivery of the subsea manifolds and riser bases is the yard’s second hardware load-out for the Goliat subsea project. The first, consisting of eight subsea templates, was also delivered on schedule when it sailed out of Egersund at the end of March last year.

Aker Solutions’ Goliat contract, signed in September 2009, comprises of engineering, procurement and construction of a complete subsea production system. Subsea hardware deliveries include eight overtrawlable four-slot subsea templates with manifolds, wellheads system, 24 subsea trees, subsea and topside controls systems, 20 kilometres of steel tube umbilicals, work-over equipment and a tie-in and connection system.

Source

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Norway: Statoil Plans to Establish New Operational Area on NCS

Statoil said it intends to establish a new operational area on the Norwegian continental shelf, which will be based in Harstad with start-up in the first half of 2013.

Statoil is setting up a separate operational area in Northern Norway due to the considerable increase in activities taking place off the three northernmost counties in Norway.

“This will boost our presence in Northern Norway and help ensure added value from the Northern fields in the future. Ever since the merger in 2007, and the setting up of Operations North in Stjørdal, we have expressed our intention of establishing a new operational area in the North when activities and materiality justified such an industrial decision – and we are now seeing that level of activity,” states Statoil CEO Helge Lund.

Lund adds that there are also expectations of further activities in Northern Norway, owing to the increase in exploration in newly opened acreage, and in areas expected to be made available to the petroleum industry; initially the Barents Sea, and subsequently areas in the north-eastern Norwegian Sea.

Increased activity in Northern Norway

To begin with the new operational area will be responsible for the already operative Norne and Snøhvit fields, as well as for the Åsta Hansteen field, for which a decision will be taken later this year. In due course the Skrugard/Havis field will also report to the new operational area, which will be managed along similar lines and carry the same executive authority as other operational areas.

Meanwhile, it is the intention to locate the Åsta Hansteen field’s operational organisation in Harstad, the supply base in Sandnessjøen and the helicopter base in Brønnøysund. These choices have been made after consultation with the partners on the field and final decisions here will be taken in connection with the impact assessment study.

“In wishing to base the Åsta Hansteen operational organisation in Harstad, we are envisaging the possibility of synergy effects obtained from a joint localisation with the Norne field. A new operational organisation will also boost competence and enhance the specialist milieus in Harstad,” says the executive vice president for Development and Production Norway, Øystein Michelsen.

The creation of this new area of operations will entail an increase in the number of employees at the Harstad office. Once the decision on Åsta Hansteen is taken, more employees will join the new area; overall the increase is likely to amount to some 30-50 persons.

Work on the detailed planning of the new operational area in Northern Norway is now getting under way. The area will commence its operations in the course of the first half of 2013.

Source

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Norway: Little Knowledge on Northeastern Barents, NPD Says

The Norwegian Government has decided that the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate will map the geology in the northeastern part of Norway’s new sea area in the Barents Sea. According to the plan, the seismic surveys will start this summer and continue into 2013. This will provide important knowledge regarding possible oil and gas resources in this area.

“We have very little knowledge concerning the geology in the northeastern Barents Sea. In order to know more about the resource potential, we need more data,” says Sissel Eriksen, exploration director in the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate.

On 15 September 2010, Norway and Russia signed the agreement relating to maritime demarcation and cooperation in the Barents Sea and Arctic Ocean. The agreement entered into force on 7 July 2011.

On the Norwegian side, the Government has started an opening process with the aim of awarding production licenses in the southeastern sector of the Barents Sea. The geological mapping started last summer and will continue until this summer.

Earlier this year, the NPD entered into contracts regarding two vessels that will acquire seismic data both in the southeastern sector of the Barents Sea, in the sea area around Jan Mayen and in Nordland IV and V this summer.

“The plans to also map the northeastern sector of the Barents Sea mean that we need more capacity to acquire seismic. This assignment has been submitted for tender,” says Eriksen.

Source

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Major Oil And Gas Finds In northern Europe

Written by: EurActiv
January 10, 2012

Norway’s Statoil has made a second big oil discovery in the Barents Sea in less than a year and predicted more discoveries to come in the region.

The new oil find, called Havis, may hold between 200 million and 300 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe). The new find combined with the previous and nearby discovery, Skrugard, could provide between 400 million and 600 million boe, Statoil said yesterday (9 January).

“This is extremely positive,” said John Olaisen, an analyst at the Carnegie investment banking firm in Oslo. “This is an important strategic asset in a new oil region, so this is very good … One could expect more oil finds in the region after this.”

A Shell and ExxonMobil joint venture, Nam, has also announced what it says is the largest on-shore gas field discovery in the Netherlands since 1995, near Ee, in Friesland.

Production at the South Metslawier site, which is estimated to hold 4 billion cubic metres of reserves, is expected to begin in the summer, and last until 2015.

The Norwegian find in the Barents Sea, followed a carve-up of the territory in 2010 between Norway and Russia.

The Arctic region holds 25% of the world’s hydrocarbons, according to the US Geological Survey.

Norway is the world’s eighth-largest oil exporter and the second-largest for gas, which has seen declining oil output since 2001, following a string of offshore discoveries made over the past year.

Finding oil in the Norwegian part of the Barents Sea had until recently proven to be very difficult.

Over the past 30 years oil companies have drilled 92 exploration wells but only a handful have proven to be hits – Skrugard, Statoil’s Snoehvit gas field, Eni’s Goliat oilfield and Total’s Norvarg discovery.

Statoil now expects to strike more oil in the region around Havis.”We believe we now understand (the geology) and have cracked the code in this area,” the company’s chief executive Helge Lund said.

“We think we will be able to make additional finds in this licence in the future,” he said.

Production at Havis is expected to begin before the end of the decade.

The partners in the latest oil find are Statoil (50%), Italy’s Eni (30%) and Norwegian state-owned firm Petoro (20%).

Original article

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Norway: Statoil Steps Up Technology Efforts to Increase Production

Norway’s Statoil has singled out four business critical technologies as key to achieving the company’s growth ambitions. Statoil is boosting its R&D investments by 27% and starting to plan Norway’s biggest centre for IOR technology.

In the period up to 2020 Statoil will maintain a high level of production on the Norwegian continental shelf while doubling its international production.

“The oil and gas industry is facing new technological challenges that differ from those we have dealt with so far. We will find the resources of the future at great oceanic depths, in arctic areas where the conditions are extreme, and in new resources such as shale gas and shale oil for example. Statoil is well positioned to lead the continuing development of the oil and gas industry,” says Margareth Øvrum, executive vice president for Technology, Projects and Drilling.

Statoil is now stepping up its technology efforts in order to boost production, reduce energy consumption and support the company’s growth ambitions. Specifically this will mean tougher technology priorities, closer cooperation and the swifter implementation of technology.

Statoil’s new technology strategy builds on the company’s ambitions to boost production from 1.9 million barrels of oil equivalents per day in 2010 to 2.5 million boed in 2020.

The four prioritised technology areas are:

• Seismic imaging and interpretation – will contribute to making further discoveries and boost the recovery rate by 2020.
• Reservoir characterisation and recovery – to maximise value. Will contribute to the production a further 1.5 billion boed in reserves by 2020.
• Efficient well construction – to drill more cost-efficient wells: 30% shorter time on well construction and 15% cost reduction by 2020.
• Realise subsea compression by 2015 and complete a “subsea factory” by 2020 – to accelerate and boost production.

“We have identified four commercially critical technology areas where Statoil has a competitive advantage and where we have a long history of making the impossible possible. We have set ambitious targets for how technology will help us make further discoveries, boost recovery from existing fields, reduce costs and bring about operational improvements in health, environment and safety,” says Øvrum.

Statoil is increasing its concentration in R&D and IOR (Improved Oil Recovery).

“For 2012 we are increasing our R&D investments by 27% to NOK 2.8 billion. We are also planning for a further increase in our R&D activities going forward. In addition, we have specific plans to expand our R&D Centre at Rotvoll in Trondheim to provide room for Norway’s biggest IOR Centre,” says Øvrum.

“Our technology advances would not have been possible without the solutions developed by an innovative and dynamic supplier industry, as well as by universities and research institutes. In order to succeed in our four prioritised technology areas we require new solutions and closer cooperation with our suppliers, national and international research milieus, and other partners.”

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Source

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Rosneft ‘door closed’ in Barents

Russia’s military has reportedly barred the way for state oil company Rosneft to gain exploration access to three prospective areas in the Barents Sea.

Steve Marshall & News reports 28 November 2011 09:19 GMT

Rosneft has had its applications for three licences covering the Severny, Papaninsky and Mezhdusharsky Vostochny structures rejected by Russia’s mineral extraction agency Rosnedra after objections were raised by the Ministry of Defence, a Rosnedra source, quoted in Russian media, was reported as saying by the Barents Observer.

The three tracts, located south-west of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago, are prospective for oil and gas, with Severny reported to hold 26.6 billion barrels of oil equivalent, while Mezhdusharsky and Papaninsky are believed to contain 2 billion boe and 559 million boe respectively.

Rosneft also had its bid to explore the Severo-Barentsevoye field turned down due to ongoing state mapping of the area.

Conflicting interests among Russian state bodies have historically stalled decisions on exploration and development of Barents acreage, with fields discovered in the 1970s still undeveloped.

The Russian military sees the Barents as a strategically important area because it provides ice-free access to the North Atlantic and Arctic Ocean. The might Northern Fleet, based on the Kola Peninsula, has its bases on the Barents coast.

Source

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