Blog Archives
CGG to Acquire Large Seismic Survey for Pemex in Gulf of Mexico
CGG announced that it has been selected to acquire a large high-end seismic acquisition survey in the Mexican waters of the Gulf of Mexico on behalf of Pemex.
The survey is phase 5 in Pemex’s Centauro program, the largest ever proprietary 3D wide-azimuth program to be conducted worldwide. Phase 5 will add another 6,850 km2 of data to the existing 25,000 km2 already acquired since Centauro began in Oct 2010, bringing the total volume to almost 32,000 km2.
The survey will be acquired by the Oceanic Vega and Oceanic Sirius, CGG’s two state-of-the-art 20-streamer vessels. The project is expected to commence in mid-November and be completed in March 2014.
Antonio Escalera, VP, Exploration, Pemex, said: “Since Pemex took the innovative step of adopting wide-azimuth acquisition in 2010, this technology has consistently demonstrated its reliability at delivering superior illumination and imaging to help explore Mexico’s deep water hydrocarbon resources.”
Jean-Georges Malcor, CEO, CGG said: “This fifth phase of the Centauro program testifies to the successful long-term exploration partnership CGG has developed with Pemex in the Gulf of Mexico. We will continue to work closely with Pemex to ensure this new wide-azimuth survey meets their E&P objectives.”
Press Release, November 07, 2013
Mexico: Pemex Awards Cal Dive $188 Mln Worth of Offshore Contracts
Cal Dive International, Inc. has been awarded two additional contracts from Pemex Exploración y Producción that are expected to generate combined total revenues of approximately $188 million.
The first contract is for the procurement, installation and commissioning of 47 kilometers of 20 inch subsea pipeline and associated tie-ins to an existing platform. This contract is expected to generate revenues of approximately $129 million and will utilize two of the Company’s vessels as well as a third party vessel. The offshore construction is expected to commence in the third quarter 2013 with a portion of the work expected to be performed during the first quarter 2014.
The second contract is for the procurement, installation and commissioning of nine kilometers of two medium diameter subsea pipelines and associated tie-ins to existing platforms. This contract is expected to generate revenues of approximately $59 million and will utilize a third party vessel and a Company dive support vessel. The offshore construction for this contract is expected to commence in the fourth quarter 2013 and is expected to be completed by the end of the second quarter 2014. On a combined basis, approximately 50% – 60% of the contracts are expected to be performed during 2013.
Quinn Hébert, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cal Dive, stated, “With the $63 million Pemex contract we announced in March, total contract awards with Pemex this year currently stand at $250 million. These awards increase our total Company backlog to over $400 million, our highest level in five years. We believe these awards demonstrate Pemex’s confidence in Cal Dive as a reliable contractor. These recent contract awards not only secure work for the second half of 2013, but also provide significant visibility for the first half of 2014 when our domestic business is historically slow due to the winter work season. Also, we continue to bid for additional work in Mexico that would mostly benefit our 2014 results.”
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 salvage, and light well intervention services to the offshore oil and natural gas industry on the Gulf of Mexico OCS, Northeastern U.S., Latin America, Southeast Asia, China, Australia, West Africa, the Middle East and Europe, with a diversified fleet of surface and saturation dive support vessels and construction barges.
Mexico: PEMEX Considering Construction of Eight to Twelve New Jack-up Rigs
Emilio Lozoya Austin, CEO of Mexico’s state-controlled oil company PEMEX, has visited Keppel Fels shipyard in Singapore, where the company’s two jack-up rigs are under construction, said PEMEX in a press release issued on Wednesday.
The rigs, of KFELS B Class jackup design, are scheduled for delivery in 2015. The two jack-ups, able to operate in water depths of up to 400 feet and drill to depths of 30,000 feet, will be deployed in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
During his visit, Lozoya Austin said that PEMEX is undergoing the most ambitious drilling program in decades. He said that the Mexican oil company is working to become an oil company with the world’s highest number of jack-up rigs in operation.
Lozoya Austin also added that, as a part of Pemex’s rig fleet expansion program, eight to twelve new offshore jack-up rigs will be constructed. Pemex currently operates 41 offshore drilling rigs, five of which are semi-submersibles and 36 of those are jack-ups.
The head of PEMEX, the world’s fourth-largest crude producer at 2.5 million barrels per day, also visited the Jurong shipyard SembCorp and SembCorp PPL.
PEMEX Considering Construction of Eight to Twelve New Jack-up Rigs| Offshore Energy Today.
Related articles
- Keppel Expands Foothold in Mexican Offshore Market with Two Jackup Orders Worth US$420 Million (maritime-executive.com)
- Seadrill’s West Pegasus Sets Deepwater Drilling Record Off Mexico (gcaptain.com)
- McDermott announces $230 million deal with Pemex (fuelfix.com)
- Mexico’s Leftist Party Plans Campaign to Protect State-Owned Pemex (hispanicallyspeakingnews.com)
Worldwide Field Development News Nov 3 – Nov 9, 2012
This week the SubseaIQ team added 0 new projects and updated 14 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.
Asia – SouthEast
Maleo MOPU Recevies TLC
Nov 8, 2012 – SOV Windermere (subsea operations vessel) has been contracted to provide offshore support services in the Maleo field in East Java’s Madura offshore PSC. Hall Marine, the vessel’s owner, indicated the operation is centered around the Windermere’s integral 15-man saturation diving facility. The crew of the vessel will be engaged in facility inspections as well as repair and maintenance operations. Maleo is produced via a six-wellhead platform and a jackup converted to a Mobile Offshore Production Unit.
Thailand Partners Provide Concession Update
Nov 6, 2012 – Thailand’s Department of Mineral Fuels, Ministry of Energy has formally approved the transfer of 50% participating interest in the G2/48 concession from Pearl Oil to Rayong Offshore Exploration Ltd. The concession lies in proximity to the Jasmine and Manora oil fields and also contains the Rayong Basin which possesses similar characteristics to nearby basins with known oil accumulations. An exploration drilling program is in the advanced stages of planning with the Anchan-1 and Sainampueng-1 wells scheduled to spud 4Q 2012. These wells will satisfy the 5- and 6-year concession commitments respectively.
Project Details: Sainampueng
Black Sea
Sterling Gets Mixed Results From Ioana
Nov 7, 2012 – TD has been reached in the Ioana-1 well in the Romanian sector of the Black Sea. Gas shows were encountered in the Sterling Resources-operated well from 1,640 feet to the total depth of 6,397 feet. The main objective identified by 2D seismic was encountered as prognosed but was found to be made up of thinly bedded sands within low permeability siltstones. Shallower gas bearing sands were intersected but formation details won’t be known until cased-hole logs are thoroughly reviewed. Sterling indicated that it might seek to acquire 3D seismic data over the area to gain a better understanding of the complex formations encountered while drilling Ioana.
Project Details: Ioana
N. America – Mexico
Pemex Awards Akal Contract to Sea Trucks
Nov 9, 2012 – Pemex awarded an EPCI contract to Sea Trucks for work to be done in the Akal field offshore Mexico. The project calls for the extension of topsides of four platforms including processing equipment with associated piping and fire, gas, electrical and control systems. Field infrastructure will also be upgraded by the addition of subsea pipelines, pig launchers/receivers, spools and risers. No definite timeline has been released but the company says the work will take place in the first half of 2013.
Project Details: Cantarell
Asia – Far East
Roc Continues Success in Beibu Gulf
Nov 6, 2012 – Roc Oil, operator of the WZ6-12 development area in the Beibu Gulf, successfully drilled its second exploration well to a total depth of 8,720 feet. Well WZ6-12-A6 intersected almost 200 feet of net oil pay through multiple hydrocarbon bearing zones in the Weizhou formation and will be completed as a producer. Results of the well have confirmed the extent of the WZ6-12 South field. The third well in the three well exploration program, WZ6-12-A7, is underway and will survey the Sliver and Liushagang prospects to the north of the field.
Project Details: Beibu Gulf
N. America – US GOM
Technip Wins Cardamom Contract
Nov 9, 2012 – Shell awarded another Gulf of Mexico development contract to Technip for the development of infrastructure for the Cardamom field in Garden Banks block 427. The project consists of a subsea tieback to the Auger TLP at a water depth of 2,720 feet. Under the contract, Technip will provide project management, engineering, fabrication and installation of 8 miles of pipe-in-pipe flowlines with associated line terminations and steel catenary risers. Offshore installation is planned for the second half of 2013. The company has not disclosed the value of the contract.
Project Details: Auger
MidEast – Persian Gulf
South Pars 17 and 18 Nearing Completion
Nov 6, 2012 – Iranian Offshore Engineering and Construction Company successfully built and installed the 2,320-ton production deck for South Pars A17 platform. From engineering to installation, the entire project took just over 4 years to complete. Production will begin in about 3 months when final commissioning is complete. The unit has the capacity to produce 500 million cubic feet of gas per day. Construction of the production deck for the A18 platform is 90% complete. Completion of the two platforms will be a milestone for phases 17 and 18 in the South Pars development.
Project Details: South Pars
Mediterranean
Cosmos Concession Sees Reserve Estimates Rise
Nov 5, 2012 – New Zealand Oil & Gas announced 2P reserve estimates for the Cosmos Concession, offshore Tunisia, have increased from 6.3 to 8.8 million barrels of recoverable hydrocarbons. The 40% increase is attributed to a resource evaluation completed by InSite Petroleum Consultants Ltd. Two other independent assessments have garnered similar results. A final investment decision from the Cosmos partners is expected in early 2013. Storm Ventures International operates the license with a 40% stake. NZOG and state-owned oil company ETAP hold 40% and 20% stakes respectively.
Project Details: Cosmos South
Europe – North Sea
Europa Eyes Irish Atlantic Margin Prospects
Nov 9, 2012 – Europa Oil and Gas has identified two previously unknown prospects, Mullen and Kiernan, in the South Porcupine Basin in the Irish Atlantic Margin. Both prospects are located in the company’s 100% owned Licensing Options 11/7 and 11/8. First pass seismic data has been reprocessed over Mullen while reprocessing is on-going over Kiernan. Resource estimates at Mullen range from 66 mmbo (P90) to 1092 mmbo (P10). Both prospects are characterized by Early Cretaceous turbidite reservoirs which, although proven in the North Porcupine Basin, are untested in the south. Results from the upcoming ExxonMobile Dunquin well may help to de-risk the area. Europa is currently looking for a joint venture partner to assist with maturing the prospects to drillable status.
Subsea 7 Grabs Subsea Compression Gig
Nov 9, 2012 – Subsea 7 is the winner of a subsea compression contract for the Statoil-operated Gullfaks C production facility. At almost $70 million the contract provides for the engineering, installation and commissioning of a 9.5 mile integrated power umbilical, a protection structure, a subsea compressor station, pipeline spools and tie-ins. Work will begin immediately at Subsea 7’s Stavanger office with offshore operations scheduled to begin in 2015.
Project Details: Greater Gullfaks Area
Proserv Awarded Cygnus Controls Contract
Nov 8, 2012 – GDF SUEZ, through its design contractor AMEC, awarded a $1.9 million contract to Proserv to design, engineer and build wellhead control panels for the Alpha and Bravo platforms at the Cygnus project in the UK North Sea. Proserv will also provide an umbilical termination unit that is integral to the control of the isolation valve fitted to the subsea export pipeline. Six of the ten development wells associated with the platforms will be controlled through the initial panel design. Work is already underway on the project and equipment is scheduled for delivery in 2013 and 2014.
Project Details: Cygnus
Chevron Takes The Helm in West of Shetland Probe
Nov 7, 2012 – Chevron has been given consent by the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to drill the West of Sheland Cambo-5 well on behalf of Hess Limited, the operator of block 204/5a. Cambo-5 will be drilled by a drillship in 3,576 feet of water but the vessel chosen for the drilling program has yet to be named. As part of the approval process, the DECC has thoroughly reviewed Chevron’s management systems and emergency response plans and inspected the drillship that is to be used for the well.
Northeastern Johan Sverdrup Reservoir Qualtity Confirmed
Nov 7, 2012 – Diamond Offshore’s Ocean Vanguard (mid-water semisub) drilled another successful well in the Johan Sverdrup discovery area. Well 16/2-14 was drilled almost 4 miles northwest of Johan Sverdrup discovery well 16/2-6. The main objective was to collect data from the stratigraphic sequence above the reservoir to serve as the basis for field development decisions. A 98-foot oil column was encountered in Upper Jurassic reservoir rocks that exhibited good reservoir quality. The Hegre and Shetland Groups were encountered but reservoir quality was poor in both. The well was drilled to a total depth of 6,430 feet and will be permanently plugged and abandoned.
Project Details: Johan Sverdrup
Premier and Partners Come Up Dry at Spaniards East
Nov 6, 2012 – Exploration well 15/21a-60 in the UK North Sea was drilled to a depth of 10,694 feet and plugged and abandoned as a dry hole. The Premier-operated well was designed to test the easterly extent of the Spaniards discovery and encountered 75 feet of Jurassic sands. However, logging revealed the sands to be water wet. A full analysis of the drilling data is required before a final decision on the commerciality of the Spaniards discovery can be made.
Africa – West
Alen Development Remains On Schedule
Nov 7, 2012 – PA Resources announced work on the Alen field development in Blocks O and I, offshore Equatorial Guinea, is progressing on schedule. The goal remains to achieve first production in the second half of 2013. Fabrication of platform facilities is in advanced stages and installation of flowlines and umbilicals is expected in 4Q 2012. The development will be comprised of a wellhead platform connected by a bridge to a central processing platform. Once on-line, Alen should produce 33,000 barrels of oil per day via three production wells.
Project Details: Aseng
S. America – Other & Carib.
Mapale-1 Yields Gas Offshore Columbia
Nov 8, 2012 – Equion Energia and its partners announced the discovery of gas in the Mapale-1 exploration well in block RC-5 offshore Columbia. The well was spud in August using the West Mischief (350′ ILC). Gas shows during drilling confirmed the presence of a hydrocarbon system and fluid tests and logging results confirmed the presence of dry natural gas. The company will now begin the technical evaluation process in order to determine the potential of the discovery. A second well was scheduled to be drilled but was postponed until after the harsh weather season, which lasts from November through April, passed. Equion serves as operator with 40.56% interest followed by Ecopetrol with 32% and Petrobras with the remaining 27.44%.
Related articles
- Sea Trucks Secures Subsea Installation Contract in Mexico (mb50.wordpress.com)
- Worldwide Field Development News Oct 27 – Nov 2, 2012 (mb50.wordpress.com)
- Gulf of Mexico: Quest Offshore Sees Bright Future for Deepwater GoM (USA) (mb50.wordpress.com)
- UK: PEMEX E&P and BP to Share Technology, Expertise for Deepwater Well Cap (mb50.wordpress.com)
- USA: FMC Technologies, Edison Chouest Offshore Team Up (mb50.wordpress.com)
UK: PEMEX E&P and BP to Share Technology, Expertise for Deepwater Well Cap
Petroleos Mexicanos Exploration and Production (PEMEX E&P) and BP today announced an agreement for BP to share the technical information it used to build its global deepwater well-capping equipment.
Under the Technology License Agreement, BP will make available technical information that PEMEX E&P, one of four subsidiaries of PEMEX, can use, in addition to PEMEX E&P initiatives already in place, if it decides to build and maintain its own well capping system for use in Mexican waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
In addition, BP has agreed to conduct workshops in Houston to brief PEMEX E&P on the technical information and operational aspects of the system, as well as to introduce PEMEX E&P specialists to key vendors and fabricators that BP used to develop its global deepwater well cap and tooling package.
“The agreement marks another step forward in PEMEX E&P’s ongoing efforts to help protect the rich Gulf of Mexico environment in which we operate, as well as to apply state-of-the-art technology as we develop Mexico’s deepwater oil and natural gas resources,” said Carlos Morales, president of PEMEX Exploration and Production.
Richard Morrison, BP’s Head of Global Deepwater Response, said the agreement underscores BP’s commitment to sharing lessons learned during and following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon accident and response.
“Today’s announcement builds on our commitment and the work we have done — and continue to do — to help advance global deepwater response capabilities around the world,” he said.
“We are pleased to provide PEMEX E&P with access to our recent technological innovation and information so that operators in both the USA and Mexico areas of the Gulf of Mexico can be equipped to respond to a subsea well control incident in the Gulf of Mexico.”
BP’s global deepwater well cap is a 100-ton stack of valves that can be lowered onto a leaking well to halt the flow. The system can operate in 10,000 feet of water and is rated to pressures of 15,000 pounds per square inch. Stored in Houston, it can be sent by heavy-lift aircraft to any country where BP operates in a matter of days.
Under the Technology License Agreement, BP will share at no cost to PEMEX E&P technical information on BP’s capping stack, and PEMEX E&P has agreed to make any future advancements to this well-capping technology available at no cost to BP. BP will retain intellectual property rights, so it can continue to share the plans with others.
BP, which has had a presence in Mexico for around 50 years, has collaborated with PEMEX E&P through a variety of non-commercial technology, scientific and training mutual cooperation agreements over the last decade. Those have resulted in hundreds of workshops, seminars and exchanges to share best practices and technological expertise.
Related articles
- Pemex Signs Deal to Use BP’s Well-Capping Technology in Gulf (ibtimes.com)
- Mexico Announces New Significant Crude Oil Discovery in Gulf of Mexico (hispanicallyspeakingnews.com)
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.
Gulf of Mexico: Oil Reserves Found (video & text)
Months of rumors have ended with authorities confirming the discovery of a large oil reserve in the Gulf of Mexico near Matamoros.
Mexican President Felipe Calderon made the announcement Friday morning.
A deep sea oil well in Gulf of Mexico located just 24 miles off the coast but some 155 miles south of Matamoros struck “black gold.”
Mexico’s national oil company PEMEX confirms that exploration at the site began back in June 2011.
The site is now expected to yield crude oil generating both jobs and income.
Located at about 9,500 feet deep, the site is expected to be Mexico’s deepest underwater drilling site and the eighth deepest in the world.
Once it’s up and running, PEMEX officials estimate the site will produce about 10,000 barrels of oil per day.
PEMEX officials believe the deep sea drilling site could yield a total of 125 million barrels of oil over its lifetime.
The Friday announcement is the second discovery is the new oil reserves found in two month’s time in the Gulf of Mexico.
PEMEX crews continue to explore the Gulf of Mexico in search of even more.
Source: VALLEYCENTRAL.COM
Zetas gang threatens Mexico’s shale gas near border
NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico — The brutal Zetas gang poses one of the most daunting challenges to the development of Mexico’s abundant shale gas reserves near the Texas border.
The gas fields extend from the booming Eagle Ford play of South Texas deep into the ranch and coal country stretching inland from this violent border city. This is Zetas country, among the most fearsome of Mexico’s criminal badlands.
U.S. and Mexican energy companies long have been besieged by the gangsters here – their workers assaulted, extorted or murdered – despite a heavy military and federal police presence. Now, with feuding Zetas factions bloodying one another and fending off outside rivals, what has been a bad situation threatens to get much worse.
Northern Mexico’s gas production has suffered for years as gangland threats or attacks have kept workers from servicing the wellheads, pipelines and drilling rigs in the Burgos Basin, the territory between the Rio Grande and the city of Monterrey, which now provides up to 20 percent of Mexico’s natural gas.
“Petroleos Mexicanos has problems with security … principally in Burgos,” Guillermo Dominguez, a senior member of the National Hydrocarbons Commission, told the Mexico City newspaper Reforma.
And now the surging Zetas bloodletting pits the gang’s top bosses – Heriberto Lazcano and Miguel Angel Treviño – against Ivan Velazquez, a former underling known as “El Taliban.” From his base in the western state of Zacatecas, Velazquez reportedly has allied with the remnants of other gangs to launch a challenge for control of Coahuila state, which holds most of the shale gas reserves.
Challenge to control
Banners recently hung by both Zetas factions have accused one another of treason and other transgressions that will be avenged with death. Fighting has rattled Nuevo Laredo, the Zetas stronghold that also is the busiest land port for U.S.-Mexico trade, killing scores this month alone.
Still more banners appeared in Nuevo Laredo Tuesday, reputedly written by beleaguered civilians, promising all the gangster factions further bloody vengeance.
“Zetas are pretty much in control, but they have been challenged,” said a U.S. official in Mexico who monitors the situation, speaking on condition of anonymity. “You have all these groups fighting one another, shifting alliances and internal fights … It’s a wilderness of mirrors.”
The Zetas’ spats with rivals already have turned Coahuila’s other large cities – Torreon in the west, Monclova in the center and Saltillo in the east – into fierce gangland battlegrounds. State officials are blaming the Sept. 17 escape of 131 prisoners from a Piedras Negras prison on the Zetas seeking to replenish their ranks for new battles.
The insecurity in Mexico’s gas fields contrasts sharply with the drilling and production frenzy seizing the ranchlands just north of the border. Oil field pickups and semi-trailer fuel tankers choke Highway 83, the once-desolate ranch-country highway that cuts northwest from Laredo though the lower reaches of the Eagle Ford.
Some 6,000 drilling permits have been issued for Eagle Ford shale in Texas, and 550 wells are producing there. By comparison, Pemex so far has drilled five exploratory shale gas wells, but hopes to drill 170 more in the next four years. The company plans to spend $200 million on exploration in the short term.
Those first exploratory wells have been drilled to the west of Nuevo Laredo and below the border at Piedras Negras, ranch and coal country that remains relatively violence free for now. But that tranquility may owe more to the now-threatened dominance of the Zetas bosses than to rule of law.
“They are in control,” said a U.S. official. “They are pretty much just doing their thing.”
Workers disappearing
At least eight Pemex and contract employees vanished in May 2010 near a gas facility near Falcon Lake, territory under the Zetas’ firm control. Last March, two men working for a Mexican company doing contract work for Houston-based Halliburton disappeared outside Piedras Negras.
Halliburton spokeswoman Tara Mullee-Agard said employees get regular security briefings, but the company declined to comment on the contractors’ disappearance.
“Many companies that were active in the areas have stopped until Pemex or the government can provide security,” said an employee of one Reynosa-based company. “In places where there have been incidents we don’t operate anymore. When darkness falls, we stop wherever we are.
Related articles
- Zetas crimping gas industry in northern Mexico (mysanantonio.com)
- Banners claim an alliance has been formed against the Zetas (mysanantonio.com)
- Mexico: State Officials Killed in Nuevo Laredo (hispanicallyspeakingnews.com)
- Piedras Negras “megafuga” just the latest massive prison break (mysanantonio.com)
- 132 inmates escape from Mexican prison near U.S. border (theprovince.com)
Continents of the World
Mb50's "Liquid Mud" Rant 