Houston, Texas: Deep Down Receives Multiple Services Contracts

Deep Down, Inc., an oilfield services company specializing in complex deepwater and ultra-deepwater oil production distribution system support services recently announced they have received multiple contracts from an international operator and a major international controls manufacturer for the manufacture of flying leads and associated services worth in excess of $2.3 million; pending finalization of engineering design for one of the projects.

The first contract is for additional flying leads, equipment and services in support of a project located offshore Ghana, West Africa with delivery scheduled in the third quarter 2012. The second contract, which is also scheduled for delivery in the third quarter 2012, is for installation on a project in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The third contract is for a project on the Northwest coast of Australia, with delivery scheduled the first quarter 2013. The latter is a first-of-its-kind deployment with five electrical quads which integrate into the loose steel-tube flying lead (LSFL) bundle with end terminations serving as mini umbilical termination assemblies (UTAs). This configuration was chosen for its superior handling characteristics, as well as installation efficiency; a key advantage is that installation can be achieved with a single ROV assisted lay down instead of multiple lay downs.

Ron Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Deep Down, Inc. stated, “These awards reaffirm the efforts Deep Down has put into our flying leads to provide our customers with quality, affordability and most importantly, a more efficient and safer installation solution.”

Deep Down, Inc. is an oilfield services company serving the worldwide offshore exploration and production industry. Deep Down’s proven services and technological solutions include distribution system installation support and engineering services, umbilical terminations, loose-tube steel flying leads, distributed and drill riser buoyancy, ROVs and tooling, marine vessel automation, control, and ballast systems. Deep Down supports subsea engineering, installation, commissioning, and maintenance projects through specialized, highly experienced service teams and engineered technological solutions. The company’s primary focus is on more complex deepwater and ultra-deepwater oil production distribution system support services and technologies, used between the platform and the wellhead.

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Seadrill Expects Stronger Second Quarter after Robust 1Q 2012

by  Jon Mainwaring

Press Release

Monday, May 14, 2012

Norwegian deepwater drilling company Seadrill said Monday that it expects earnings for the second quarter of 2012 to be favorably affected by the starting up of operations in April and June of its ultra-deepwater semi-submersible rigs West Leo (UDW semisub) and West Capricorn (UDW semisub).

Reporting its first quarter results, the firm said that it also expects to receive a full quarter of earnings from its harsh environment jack-up West Elara (490′ ILC) – which began operations for Statoil in March.

West Leo began its contract with Tullow Oil offshore Ghana in April, while West Capricorn is due to begin operations for BP in the US next month.

For 1Q 2012 Seadrill reported operating profits of $456 million, compared with $430 million for 1Q 2011. However, net income was lower than for 1Q 2011, at $480 million compared with $934 million, on account of a one-off $477 million gain last year in connection to the deconsolidation of Seadrill’s subsidiary Well Services.

Total revenues for the three month period to March 31 were broadly in line with last year at $1,050 million (1Q 2011: $1,100 million).

“We are pleased to report another solid quarter for Seadrill reflecting a strong underlying operational performance,” said Seadrill Chief Executive Officer Alf Thorkildsen.

“Furthermore, the outlook and fundamentals for the oil and gas industry remain strong. Encouraging exploration successes in established as well as frontier basins are leading to an increasing backlog of appraisal and development drilling projects. These strong fundamentals support the expectation of continued strength in all sectors of the contract drilling industry for the foreseeable future. As a consequence we have ordered six newbuilds in the last three months and the Company now has 18 drilling units under construction.”

A former engineer, Jon Mainwaring is an experienced journalist who has written about the technology, engineering and energy industries. Email Jon at jmainwaring@rigzone.com.

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Recap: Worldwide Field Development News (Mar 16 – Mar 22, 2012)

This week the SubseaIQ team added 8 new projects and updated 32 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.

Africa – West African Petroleum Secures Block Offshore Cote d’Ivoire Mar 21, 2012 – African Petroleum has entered an agreement with Societe Nationale d’Operations Petrolieres de la Cote d’Ivoire (“PETROCI”) and the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire (the “State of Cote d’Ivoire”) to acquire exploration rights in offshore block CI-509. The permit is situated in the western offshore area of the Cote d’Ivoire, spanning 269,683 acres (1,091.37 square kilometers). African Petroleum will operate the block with a 90 percent stake, while the remaining 10 percent is owned by Petroci. The company expects to commence a 3D seismic program over Blocks CI-513 and CI-509 in mid-April 2012. Ownership Change in License 20, Block 2714A Mar 16, 2012 – Chariot Oil & Gas announced changes in equity ownership of its Southern Block 2714A resulting in Petrobras, the license operator, holding 30% interest; BP Exploration (Namibia) Limited acquiring an additional 20% equity making it the majority interest holder with 45%; and Enigma Oil & Gas Exploration (Chariot’s wholly-owned subsidiary) owning the remaining 25% interest in the license. The change in the equity ownership does not affect the current program for License 20, which contains the drill-ready prospect, Nimrod. As announced previously, the partnership plans to drill the exploration well Kabeljou-1 on the high-impact Nimrod prospect later this year. Tullow to Further Explore Deepwater Tano License Mar 16, 2012 – Tullow has identified several prospects in the Deepwater Tano license offshore Ghana. Three exploration wells are expected to be drilled on the block before 2013, which include: Wawa-1, Sapele-1 and Tweneboa Deep-1. Tullow said that Wawa-1 will target hydrocarbons which may have moved to a trap up-dip from the TEN oil and gas/condensate fields; Sapele-1, immediately south of the Jubilee field, will test a prospective turbidite lobe and Tweneboa Deep-1, is a material prospect below the TEN fields. Project Details: Sapele (Ghana) Tullow Finds Additional Pay in Enyenra Field Mar 16, 2012 – Tullow Oil has successfully appraised the Enyenra-4A well in the Deepwater Tano License offshore Ghana. The well encountered oil in very good quality sandstone reservoirs. The company said that good evidence of communication with the Owo-1 discovery wells and the Enyenra appraisal wells confirm the extent of the Enyenra light oil field. Enyenra-4A, located 4.5 miles (7 kilometers) south west of Enyenra-2A and almost 13 miles (21 kilometers) south of the Enyenra-3A well, was drilled to define the southern extent of the field. Results of drilling, wireline logs, samples of reservoir fluids and pressure data show that Enyenra-4A has intersected 105 feet (32 meters) of net oil pay. Pressure data from the oil leg has demonstrated that the oil is in static communication with the oil seen in the other wells in the field, indicating a continuous oil column of approximately 1,970 feet (600 meters). The well will be suspended for later use. The Ocean Olympia (UDW drillship) drilled the well to a total depth of 13,695 feet (4,174 meters) in a water depth of 6,160 feet (1,878 meters). Project Details: The Ten Cluster Black Sea Midia Resources Enters Muridava License Offshore Romania Mar 22, 2012 – Melrose Resources has agreed to farm-out a portion of its equity in the EX-27 Muridava License, offshore Romania. The Romanian National Agency of Mineral Resources has formally approved the transfer of a 40 percent working interest in the block to Midia Resources, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sterling Resources. Following completion of the transaction, Melrose will retain operatorship and a 40% stake in the concession, with the remaining equity held by Midia (40%) and Petromar Resources (20%). Asia – SouthEast Salamander Gears Up for Drilling in B8/38 License Mar 22, 2012 – Salamander Energy has contracted the ENSCO 53 (350??? ILC) jackup to commence a four-well drilling program for License B8/38 offshore Thailand. The company will initially drill two development wells followed by exploratory drilling in May. The license houses the Bualuang oil field in 197 feet (60 meters) of water. Project Details: Bualuang Nido Updates Ops at Galoc Field Mar 21, 2012 – Nido Petroleum announced that fabrication and installation of the turret mooring and riser system for Phase II of the Galoc field was progressing on schedule with production expected to resume at the end of 1Q 2012. Furthermore, the FEED for Phase II is being performed as planned and remains on track for FID in 2012. Project Details: Galoc S. America – Other & Carib. Borders & Southern Encounter Rig Issues While Drilling Darwin East Mar 16, 2012 – Borders & Southern reports that although drilling operations on Darwin East are going according to design, technical issues with equipment on the Leiv Eiriksson (UDW semisub) may result in another four to five weeks of activity on well 61/17-1. The operator said rig issues were resolved and drilling is progressing. Further announcements are anticipated once the well reaches total depth and wireline log interpretations are completed. Project Details: Darwin East Asia – South Santos Finds More Gas at Sangu Mar 16, 2012 – Santos has found a new gas reservoir through well Sangu-11 in the Sangu area with about 66 feet (20 meters) of good-quality gas pay. The well will be completed and tied into the Sangu facilities. The operator is continuing to assess the volumes and flow potential of the reservoir. After completing Sangu-11, the Seadrill jackup Offshore Resolute (350??? ILC) will be demobilized. Sangu-11 was the final well in a three-well drilling campaign in Block 16 PSC that commenced in September 2011. The first well, South Sangu-4, found gas in one target but was unable to add further reserves due to encountering anomalously high formation pressure, and had to be abandoned prior to reaching its primary objective. The second well, NE Sangu-1 drilled in December 2011, failed to encounter commercial hydrocarbons and was also abandoned. Project Details: Sangu Europe – North Sea Premier Halts Fyne Development Mar 22, 2012 – Premier Oil has decided to not move forward with developing the Greater Fyne area in the North Sea due to disappointing appraisal drilling results earlier this year. The operator said the development does not meet its commercial threshold. Fyne was slated to commence production in 2014. Project Details: Fyne Aker Solutions Scores FEED Study for Draupne Field Mar 22, 2012 – Det norske awarded Aker Solutions a front-end, engineering and design contract for the Draupne field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. The study is slated for delivery in 4Q 2012. First production from the development is expected in 2015. Project Details: Luno, Draupne Project BP Gets Green Light to Drill North Uist Mar 22, 2012 – The Department of Energy and Climate Change has granted BP permission to drill the deepwater North Uist oil well, northwest of the Shetland Islands. The well is situated in Block 213/25c in a water depth of 4,232 feet (1,290 meters). Project Details: North Uist Catcher Field to Come Online in 2015 Mar 20, 2012 – Nautical Petroleum, a partner in the Catcher field, expects production to commence from the development in 2015. The final field-development plan (FDP) for the discovery will be submitted before the end of this year. Catcher is estimated to hold 135 MMbbl of oil. The Catcher field is located in the Central North Sea Block 28/9 in a water depth of 299 feet (91 meters). Project Details: Catcher Valiant Spuds Cladhan South Mar 20, 2012 – Valiant Petroleum has commenced drilling at the Cladhan South exploratory prospect, located in Block 210/29c in the UK sector of the North Sea. Cladhan South is an Upper Jurassic channelized sand play immediately to the south of the existing Cladhan discovery with gross prospective resources estimated internally by Valiant to be 13 MMboe. The well is being drilled by the Sedco 704 (mid-water semisub) and is anticipated to take 35 to 40 days to complete. Project Details: Cladhan EPC Offshore Scores Lancaster Gig Mar 20, 2012 – EPC Offshore received a contract to select the optimum concept for the development of Hurricane’s Lancaster field in the UK sector of the North Sea. The first phase of the project is expected to run until the end of the year with FEED engineering commencing in 2013. The development is situated on Block 205/21a in 509 feet (155 meters). Project Details: Lancaster Valiant Petroleum Enters Norvarg License Mar 20, 2012 – Rocksource has signed a strategic asset transaction with Valiant Petroleum for a stake in the Norvarg discovery. The transaction includes the sale of a 13-percent stake, leaving a 7 percent stake with Rocksource. The transaction remains subject to certain conditions, including Norwegian government approvals. Rocksource is a partner in the Norvarg license, which Total operates with a 40 percent stake. Project Details: Norvarg FMC to Supply Subsea Equipment for Fram H-Nord Development Mar 20, 2012 – FMC Technologies has signed an agreement with Statoil for the manufacture and supply of subsea production equipment to support the Fram H-Nord development. The scope of work includes one subsea production tree, one manifold and one multiphase meter. Deliveries are expected to occur throughout 2013. Project Details: Troll Area Xcite Spuds 9/3b-7 Well on Bentley Mar 18, 2012 – Xcite Energy announced that jackup Rowan Norway (400′ ILC) has spud the 9/3b-7 development well commencing Phase 1A of the first phase development of the Bentley Field. Project Details: Bentley Trap Oil Acquires 15% Interest In Athena Mar 16, 2012 – Trap Oil will acquire a 15 percent working interest in the Athena oil field from Dyas UK Limited, subject to DECC and Dyas partners’ approvals. The effective date for the transaction is Jan. 1, 2012. Ithaca Energy is the operator and currently holds a 22.5 percent stake in the block. Following completion of the acquisition, the remaining equity holders will be Dyas, the largest equity holder with 32.5%, EWE Energie AG with 20% and Zeus Petroleum with the remaining 10%. The field will be developed via four existing production wells and one water-injection well tied to a stand-alone FPSO, the BW Athena vessel. The vessel is expected to arrive at the Athena location this month and, since the majority of the subsea elements for the field have already been installed, all of the production wells are ready for hook-up. Project Details: Athena Noreco Comes Up Dry in Luna Mar 16, 2012 – Noreco is in the process of completing exploratory well Luna-1X in License 1/11 offshore Denmark. The well did not encounter hydrocarbons. Project Details: Luna S. America – Brazil Petrobras Discovers Oil in Santos Basin Mar 20, 2012 – Petrobras has made a discovery of a high-quality oil accumulation in Block BM-S-8 in the pre-salt area of the Santos Basin. The discovery was found during the drilling of well 4-SPS-86B (4-BRSA-971-SPS), unofficially known as Carcara, 144 miles (232 kilometers) off the coast of Sao Paulo State. Sampling confirmed the presence of oil at approximately 31 degree API in reservoirs 18,865 feet (5,750 meters) deep. The well continues to be drilled with the aim of determining the lower limit of reservoirs and to identify other possible zones of interest. Carcara is the third well drilled in the area of the Discovery Evaluation Plan of 1-BRSA-532A-SPS (Bem-te-vi prospect), and is 12.43 miles (20 kilometers) from the discovery well at a water depth of 6,650 feet (2,027 meters). OGX Acquires Additional Stake, Reins of Campos Basin Blocks Mar 20, 2012 – OGX has acquired an additional 20 percent stake in Blocks BM-C-37 and BM-C-38 in the shallow waters of the Campos Basin, from partner Maersk Oil. OGX will now assume operatorship of these blocks. With this acquisition, OGX plans to use its current operational structure to drill six wells in blocks BM-C-37 and BM-C-38, in order to confirm the extension of discovered accumulations and test the existence of new prospects in the area. OGX will conduct all necessary studies and tests aiming to convert its resources into reserves. Project Details: Carambola Other Cairn Processing 3D Seismic Data Offshore Greenland Mar 20, 2012 – Cairn Energy said that a number of play types have been identified on the Pitu block, which is geologically separate from other parts of West Greenland. The extensive shallow coring program undertaken by Cairn across the block in 2011 confirms the presence of micro oil seeps above structural closures already identified. All of the exploration evidence acquired to date points to the Baffin Bay Basin being oil generative and having multi-billion barrel potential. The 3D seismic acquired over Pitu in 1H 2011 is currently being processed, with final results expected in May/June 2012. Subject to the final interpretation of those results, exploration wells will be planned for the Pitu prospects. Australia Woodside’s Pluto LNG Ready for Start Up Mar 22, 2012 – Woodside’s Pluto LNG project has reached ready for start-up and first gas has entered the processing train. First production of LNG will take place in the coming weeks, followed by deliveries to foundation customers and project participants Kansai Electric and Tokyo Gas. The initial phase of the Pluto LNG project comprises an offshore platform in 279 feet (85 meters) of water, connected to five subsea wells on the Pluto gas field. Gas will be piped through a 112-mile (180-kilometer) trunkline to an onshore facility. Project Details: Pluto Woodside Ramps Up Vincent Production with Infill Wells Mar 21, 2012 – Woodside reported that the Vincent field has produced roughly 27 MMbbl of oil since start-up in 2008, with 2011 production around 8.5 MMbbl. In September 2011, the company boosted Vincent???s overall production rate with two infill wells (VNB-H5 and VNB-H6) coming online. This resulted in the Ngujima-Yin FPSO achieving its highest production rate of almost 53,000 bopd. Woodside will complete a third infill well at Vincent, VNB-H7, and bring it online in 1H 2012. Project Details: Vincent Santos Disconnects Mutineer-Exeter’s FPSO to Avoid Tropical Storm Mar 16, 2012 – Santos has shut-down production at its Mutineer-Exeter oil field due to the approaching Severe Tropical Cyclone Lua. Mutineer-Exeter’s floating production storage and offloading vessel was disconnected March 15 and has been sailing to avoid the cyclone since then, a Santos spokesman said in a statement. Project Details: Fletcher/Finucane NZOG to Acquire a Stake in the Kaheru Permit Mar 16, 2012 – New Zealand Oil & Gas signed a conditional agreement to acquire a 15 percent stake in the Kaheru permit (Petroleum Exploration Permit 52181) off the Taranaki coast. The interest acquired is from AGL Upstream Gas (MOS), a wholly owned subsidiary of AGL Energy Ltd. The other partners in the permit are ROC Oil (50% and Operator), TAG Oil (20%) and L&M Energy (15%). NZOG will pay $3 million for AGL’s stake, conditional on the joint venture making a commitment to drill a well (and on joint venture and Crown approval of the transfer of ownership from AGL to NZOG). The permit, which houses the Kaheru prospect, currently has a drilling commitment deadline of May 18, 2012, with a well scheduled to be drilled by May 18, 2013. The Kaheru prospect lies in 82 feet (25 meters) of water, and is 5 miles (8 kilometers) from shore. Project Details: Kaheru INPEX Grabs Prelude Interest Mar 16, 2012 – INPEX has agreed to acquire a 17.5 percent participating interest in the Prelude FLNG project from Shell. This transaction is pending necessary governmental approval. The Prelude FLNG project is located in WA-44-L, approximately 295 miles (475 kilometers) north-northeast of Broome, off the coast of Western Australia. The project includes the Prelude and Concerto gas fields. These fields will be developed utilizing a FLNG facility and will produce at least 3.6 million tonnes per annum of LNG, along with 0.4 million tonnes per annum of liquefied petroleum gas and approximately 36,000 bopd of condensate at peak. Project Details: Prelude Asia – Far East Roc Oil to Commence Beibu Gulf Proj. Development Mar 21, 2012 – The Chinese Government’s State Oceanic Administration has approved the Environmental Impact Assessment for the Beibu Gulf project, which compromises the development of the WZ 6-12 and WZ 12-8 west oil fields located in the South China Sea. This approval allows the company to commence offshore development activities on the project. Subject to final approval, onshore fabrication activities are ongoing and offshore pipeline installation is anticipated to commence during March. On completion of platform installation during 1H 2012, drilling activity is expected to start mid-year and will include four exploration/appraisal wells, which will be followed by the development drilling program. The operator anticipates first oil production from the Beibu Gulf project by the end of 2012 with full-field peak production anticipated by 2013. Project Details: Beibu Gulf Project

 

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Ghana: Aker Solutions Signs Well Service Contract with Tullow

Aker Solutions has signed a frame agreement with Tullow Ghana Limited to provide well intervention services for the oil company’s Jubilee and Tano deepwater fields offshore Ghana, West Africa.

The initial contract period is for three years, with two additional one-year options (3+1+1). Aker Solutions estimates that the agreement will generate annual revenues of approximately USD 4 million.

Under the agreement Aker Solutions will provide slickline and coiled tubing equipment and services, which are conducted with the objective of maximising production of oil and gas. Aker Solutions has delivered well services to Tullow’s Jubilee field since 2008.

“Tullow is the largest independent oil and gas exploration and production company operating offshore West Africa. We are pleased to be able to support their ambitious growth plans through providing our technologies and services to increase oil recovery ratios,” says Wolfgang Puennel, head of well intervention services in Aker Solutions.

“Ghana is an up-and-coming oil nation. This new and extended contract with Tullow provides us with a solid long term outlook for our operations there. We will utilise this to set up a more permanent presence in Ghana, which will also drive the need for a larger local workforce. This will put us in a better position to secure further oil service work in the country,” adds Puennel.

Aker Solutions’ contract party is Aker Qserv Ltd.

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PGS to Start Seismic Survey at Corentyne Licence, Offshore Guyana

CGX Energy Inc.  has awarded a 1,160 square kilometre 3D marine seismic contract to a subsidiary of Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS). PGS’s Ramform Challenger will undertake the five week contract at CGX’s fully owned Corentyne PPL, offshore Guyana, commencing mid-December.

PGS is a leading geophysical services company founded in 1991 in Norway with offices in 25 countries and regional centres in London, Houston and Singapore. PGS offers a broad range of geophysical services and has 14 offshore seismic vessels.

Stephen Hermeston, President and CEO stated,

“This 3D seismic program has been designed to better image the up-dip limits of the Eagle Deep stratigraphic play at the Turonian and Campanian and to cover the two early Cretaceous, Albian prospects (Crabwood and Kabukalli) which are underlying the Company’s 100% owned Corentyne offshore Petroleum Prospecting License (PPL) and for which CGX obtained an independent resources evaluation report from DeGolyer and MacNaughton of Dallas earlier this year that provided a total best estimate (P50) of prospective resources of 325 million barrels of oil. We are enthused about these prospects which CGX plans on pursuing subsequent to the drilling of the Company’s Eagle-1 well that will test the Eocene and Maastrichtian trend.”

CGX Energy is a Canadian-based oil and gas exploration company focused on the exploration of oil in the Guyana-Suriname Basin, an area that is ranked second in the world for oil and gas prospectivity by the United States Geological Service. CGX is managed by a team of experienced oil and gas and finance professionals from Guyana, Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom.

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Kosmos Energy Announces 3Q Results. Provides Update on Operations Offshore Ghana

Kosmos Energy  announced yesterday financial results for the third quarter 2011. The Company generated net income attributable to common shareholders of $52 million in the third quarter of 2011, or $0.13 per basic and diluted share. This compares to a net loss attributable to common unit holders of $99 million for the same period in 2010.

Highlights for the third quarter 2011 include:

• Two Jubilee liftings totaling approximately 2 million barrels of oil, net to Kosmos
• EBITDAX of $191 million
• Grew total liquidity by over $115 million to nearly $1.1 billion
• Exploration discovery at Akasa on West Cape Three Points Block
• Successful Enyenra-3 appraisal well on Deepwater Tano Block
• Jubilee Unit participation interest increased as a result of expert redetermination
• Expanded exploration portfolio, with increase in offshore Morocco position to approximately 12 million gross acres

Third-quarter 2011 oil revenues were $230 million, or $115.50 per barrel sold. Production expense was $24 million, or $12.13 per barrel, and depletion and depreciation was $43 million, an average of $21.36 per barrel. Exploration expense for the third quarter 2011 was $11 million. General and administrative costs were $39 million, with over 50 percent related to non-cash items, primarily the Company’s long-term equity incentive compensation program. Interest expense was $17 million. The effective tax rate for the third quarter 2011 was 49 percent.

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the third quarter 2011 was $656 million, with long-term debt of $1 billion. Total liquidity, including cash and cash equivalents and available borrowing under the debt facility, was nearly $1.1 billion.

Brian F. Maxted, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “Our results for the third quarter were very strong, supported by our oil liftings and continued robust Brent pricing. While production at Jubilee has not ramped up as quickly as planned, the ultimate resources recoverable from this giant field are unchanged, and we continue to be encouraged by its reservoir performance. We had a number of positives in our exploration and appraisal drilling programs for the quarter, with successes on both of our Ghana blocks, which continue to highlight the value upside of our Ghana assets. At the same time, we are further enhancing the Company’s portfolio of exploration opportunities, capturing substantial acreage offshore Morocco during the quarter.”

Jubilee Unit Redetermination

A redetermination of the Jubilee Unit tract participation interest was recently completed, resulting in an increase in Kosmos’ Unit interest. As determined by an independent expert analysis, a greater portion of the Jubilee field resources reside in the West Cape Three Points Block than was established under the original tract participations. The original tract participations in the Jubilee Unit were 50 percent for both the West Cape Three Points and Deepwater Tano Blocks. After expert analysis, the Unit interests have been changed to 54.37 percent for the West Cape Three Points Block and 45.63 percent for the Deepwater Tano Block. Accordingly, the Company’s Jubilee Unit interest increased to 24.08 percent from 23.51 percent.

Operational Update

Ghana

All of the Jubilee Phase 1 wells have been drilled, and current oil production is approximately 80,000 barrels per day. Identified completion issues require one of the producing wells to be sidetracked, as well as downhole remediation on certain other wells. Once these completion issues have been resolved, production is expected to continue ramping up toward the FPSO facility capacity. The J-7 production well is currently being sidetracked, with completion expected at the beginning of 2012. Additionally, the Phase 1A development, including five production and three injection wells, is being planned to commence drilling in 2012.

Kosmos is currently drilling the Teak-3 appraisal well on the West Cape Three Points Block, testing a potential updip stratigraphic extension of the discovery wells. Results at Teak-3 are expected by the end of November 2011. The Teak-4 appraisal well is scheduled to begin drilling late in the first quarter of 2012.

On the Deepwater Tano Block, Kosmos and its partners are currently redrilling the Enyenra-1 (previously known as Owo-1) discovery well, with plans to perform a drill stem test at that location. Immediately following operations at Enyenra-1, the Enyenra-4 appraisal well will be drilled over 4 miles downdip from Enyenra-2, on the south flank of the discovery. Results at Enyenra-4 are expected in the first quarter of 2012.

New Ventures Portfolio

Kosmos’ new ventures team is pursuing a number of opportunities to further enhance the Company’s exposure to new petroleum systems. Kosmos recently entered into a new petroleum agreement for the Essaouira Block offshore the Kingdom of Morocco. The Essaouira Block covers 2.9 million gross acres and is located north of the Company’s Foum Assaka Block. Both blocks are in the Agadir basin. Kosmos will be the operator of the Essaouira Block with a 37.5 percent working interest. As a result of the new agreement, Kosmos’ total acreage position offshore Morocco has grown to approximately 12 million gross acres. The Company is planning an approximately 5,000 square kilometer seismic shoot offshore Morocco on the Foum Assaka and Essaouira Blocks, targeted to begin before year-end 2011.

Kosmos Energy Ltd. is an international oil and gas exploration and production company focused on underexplored regions in Africa. The Company’s asset portfolio includes major discoveries and exploration prospects with significant hydrocarbon potential in several West African countries. Kosmos is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is traded under the ticker symbol KOS.

Source: Kosmos Energy, November 11, 2011

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Deepwater Millenium Drillship Not Moving to Brazil. Stays in Ghana

An ultra-deepwater rig leased by Anadarko Petroleum Corp is no longer heading to Brazil, according to rig owner Transocean Ltd . A source familiar with the matter said last month that Anadarko was considering the sale of some assets in Brazil, which include some deepwater prospects.

Transocean said on Monday its Deepwater Millennium rig would now remain off Ghana at a rate of $576,000 per day through this month, with the rest of its Anadarko contract through July 2013 now up in the air.

“Subsequent operating location is yet to be determined, and the dayrate under the contract could change depending on the country of future operations,” Transocean said in its latest fleet status report.

The Millennium had been set to move to Brazil in July to work on a daily rate of $561,000, according to Transocean’s July fleet status report.

The Switzerland-based rig contractor also said on Monday its midwater rig, Actinia, would move from Malaysia to India to work for ONGC next May, on a three-year contract with a dayrate of $190,000.

Finally, a previously idle Transocean shallow-water rig, the Harvey H. Ward, will start work next month for Pertamina off Indonesia on a $97,000-per-day deal running to May 2013.

Source: Reuters

Via: OET

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Ghana: Seadrill Inks One-Year Contract for Ultra-Deepwater Newbuild West Leo

Tullow Oil Ghana Ltd., a subsidiary of Tullow Oil plc has awarded Seadrill a one-year contract for operations offshore Ghana with the newbuild ultra-deepwater semi-submersible rig West Leo.

The potential contract revenue for the one-year period is US$204 million which includes US$18 million in mobilization revenue. In addition, the rig can earn a daily performance bonus of up to 10 percent.

West Leo is currently under construction at Jurong Shipyard in Singapore with delivery scheduled for the end of January 2012. The unit will subsequently start its transit to Ghana where commencement on the Tullow contract is expected in mid April 2012. West Leo will be the second unit of the Moss Maritime CS50 Mk II design that Seadrill puts into operations.

Alf C Thorkildsen, Chief Executive Officer in Seadrill Management AS, says, “We are very pleased to have secured our first deepwater contract with Tullow, a fast growing and dynamic independent oil and gas company. We believe Ghana, which is one of the most promising new deepwater frontiers, may offer significant opportunities for us going forward. We continue to strengthen our revenue backlog and have with this contract secured attractive employment for all our deep and ultra-deepwater units.”

Original Article

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