Brazil: InterMoor Completes Conductors for Papa Terra Project

InterMoor, an Acteon company, has completed installation of the drilling and production conductors for the Papa Terra project, announced Global President Tom Fulton. Petrobras serves as the operator of the Papa Terra concession with a 62.5 percent interest; Chevron holds the remaining 37.5 percent interest.

InterMoor was responsible for the design, procurement, fabrication and installation of 15 conductors for the project. Fabricated at InterMoor’s 24-acre, Morgan City, La., facility, the conductors are 36 inches (91 centimeters) in diameter and 187 feet (57 meters) long.

InterMoor chartered the Skandi Skolten, DOF Subsea’s Construction Anchor Handling Vessel, and the installation barge with a customized conductor launch system. For conductor driving, InterMoor used MENCK’s MHU-270T DWS which included a deepwater hydraulic hammer capable of providing a driving energy of 270 kilojoules at a water depth of 3,281 feet (1000 meters) combined with MENCK’s girdle-type electro-hydraulic power pack and umbilical support system. Generating hydraulic power at depth, rather than at the surface, means no hydraulic hose, therefore minimalizing environmental impact and energy loss.

The conductors were installed in water depths of 3,937 feet (1,200 meters) in the southern Campos Basin off the coast of Brazil. The installation took place in April 2012. InterMoor’s conductor services optimize conductor design to meet project-specific load and fatigue requirements, and the unique patented installation method allows installation without the need of a construction vessel. A standard Anchor Handling Vessel is sufficient, leading to a more economical installation off the rig’s critical path.

“We are proud to have successfully completed this important installation for Petrobras and to be part of the first offshore tension-leg, wellhead platform in Brazil,” said Fulton. “Our collaboration with sister company MENCK proved to be an effective partnership, and InterMoor remains the only company worldwide to offer a full conductor installation service in deep water.”

“InterMoor has been developing its strength in the Brazil market through our office in Rio de Janeiro, and this project completion confirms the breadth of our capabilities in the region,” added John Riggs, Managing Director for InterMoor do Brasil.

Subsea World News – InterMoor Completes Conductors for Papa Terra Project (Brazil).

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Brazil government fails to benefit blocking oil firms

Posted on June 21, 2012 at 6:41 am by Bloomberg

International oil companies looking to start exploring Brazil, home to the largest discoveries in the past decade, can’t get near the crude.

Brazil has repeatedly delayed the sale of exploration areas since 2007, leaving Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) and Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) shut out of an offshore area that holds at least $5 trillion of oil. Meanwhile Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PETR4), the state-run company that pumps more than 90 percent of the country’s crude, is struggling to develop deposits it has already found. Petrobras’s output grew 1.5 percent in 2011, the slowest pace in four years.

Companies including Total SA (FP) have accelerated exploration off the coast of West Africa, where the geology is similar to Brazil and which holds large discoveries in deep waters. OGX Petroleo & Gas Participacoes SA, controlled by billionaire Eike Batista, began exploring in Colombia amid delays in offering new exploration tracts in Brazil.

“Brazil is someplace where we would like to be more present; at the same time we are in 130 countries, it’s not one against the other, it’s one plus,” Total Chief Executive Officer Christophe de Margerie said in a June 18 interview in Rio de Janeiro. “I hate to say it but if it doesn’t work it doesn’t work. We would like it to work.”

Petrobras this month increased its five-year spending plan 5.3 percent to $236.5 billion, the biggest in the oil industry, to develop deposits in waters as deep as 2,800 meters (9,200 feet) and trapped under a layer of salt.

Price-to-Earnings

Petrobras trades at 6.81 times its estimated 2013 earnings, compared with a ratio of 9.74 for Exxon, 7.12 for Shell and 6.28 for Total, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Revenue at the Brazilian producer totaled $150.7 billion in the trailing 12 months, less than Exxon’s $442.9 billion, Shell’s $480.2 billion and Total’s $236.2 billion.

While a legislation change in 2007 put Petrobras in charge of all new contracts in the so-called pre-salt area off Brazil, the company hasn’t been able to extract oil fast enough to meet targets. Petrobras cut its long-term production guidance by 11 percent to 5.7 million barrels a day in 2020. Output will remain within 2 percent of 2011 levels until 2014, it said on June 14.

The lack of new exploration areas in Brazil has encouraged some companies to concentrate on other regions such as offshore Africa, where Tullow Oil Plc (TLW) and Cobalt International Energy Inc. (CIE) have made discoveries in deep waters. Last year, Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC) announced plans to sell all its Brazil blocks, granted before the 2007 legislation change, as it boosts investment in natural-gas projects in Africa.

Bid Rounds

“The absence of bid rounds is affecting all oil companies in Brazil,” Joao Clark, the head of Ecopetrol SA (ECOPETL)’s Brazilian operations, said in an April 17 interview in Rio de Janeiro. “We need new blocks, we have to improve our portfolio.”

Exxon quit its only Brazilian block this year after drilling three dry holes in deep waters, Patrick McGinn, a company spokesman, said by e-mail from Irving, Texas. The explorer is seeking more opportunities in the country, he said.

Petrobras is failing to meet output goals after new offshore wells didn’t compensate for declines at older fields. That jeopardizes its 2020 target. Brazil is counting on the company to provide national energy self-sufficiency to meet demand from a growing economy. Petrobras pumped 93 percent of the country’s oil and 99 percent of its gas in April.

Pre-Salt Zone

Foreign producers including Exxon and Total, with little acreage in Brazil, are seeking to eat into that share as fields dwindle in other areas such as the North Sea and Alaska’s North Slope. Brazil hasn’t auctioned any offshore permits since before announcing the potential of the pre-salt zone in 2007 and hasn’t sold any blocks at all since 2008, when it sold tracts on land.

“I understand quite well the anxiety of those companies,” Petrobras Chief Executive Officer Maria das Gracas Silva Foster told reporters in Rio on Feb. 13, the day she was promoted to the role. “For them it might be really important. For Petrobras, it makes no difference. We have a lot of work to do.”

Brazil probably won’t offer any areas in the region until 2013 because lawmakers are debating how to distribute future revenues, Marco Antonio Almeida, the Energy Ministry’s oil and gas secretary, said in a May 3 telephone interview from Brasilia. The pre-salt auctions will only occur after Congress votes on how to distribute the royalties from future output, the Energy Ministry said in an e-mailed response to questions.

Political Wrangling

The combination of political wrangling, requirements to buy locally built equipment and Petrobras’s budget constraints may even push new rounds to 2014 at the earliest, according to Christopher Garman, a Latin America analyst at Eurasia Group.

“The sentiment within the upper levels of government is they already have their hands full,” Garman said by phone from Washington. “What is really hurting the decisions of international oil companies to stay is the lack of a pipeline of new opportunities.”

Petrobras is required to have a minimum 30 percent stake in new pre-salt blocks. That means the Rio de Janeiro-based company can sign contracts before knowing who it will work with, making it hard to set up the auctions, Almeida said. “It’s a situation that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world,” he said.

The lack of auctions has put a premium on existing permits. Companies that bought exploration areas before the discovery of Lula — the field previously known as Tupi, which was the Americas’ largest oil discovery in more than three decades — have seen the value of those areas increase as a result of oil- price gains and scarcity of acreage, Peter Gaw, head of oil, gas and chemicals at Standard Chartered Bank, said in an interview.

BG, Repsol

BG Group Plc (BG/) owns 25 percent of Lula, while Portugal’s Galp Energia SGPS SA (GALP) has a 10 percent stake. Repsol SA owns 25 percent of a neighboring block. Their properties, purchased years before anyone knew what they were worth, have since attracted global peers to the south Atlantic.

China Petrochemical Corp., Asia’s biggest refiner, has agreed to invest $12.3 billion to become a minority partner with Repsol and Galp in Brazil. BP Plc (BP/), who skipped the first pre- salt auctions, paid Devon Energy Corp. $3.2 billion last year for nine blocks in the country.

Petrobras doesn’t need to worry about the timing of new sales because oil will only gain in value in coming decades, Silvio Sinedino Pinheiro, elected to the company’s 10-member board by workers this year, said in an April 11 interview at its headquarters.

“Here at Petrobras we talk a lot about if it makes more sense to sell now at $100 a barrel, or sell in 30 years when it costs $200 a barrel,” he said.

Source

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Brazil: Oil Leak Found at Petrobras’ Roncador Field

Brazil’s state controlled oil company, Petrobras, announces that on Sunday afternoon, April 8, a subsea inspection discovered seepage of oil coming from its Roncador oil field’s seabed in Campos basin.

The inspection was carried out using a Remotely Operate Vehicle (ROV), at the field located approximately 120 km off the coast of from the coast of São Tomé Cape, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, near the Chevron operated Frade field where two seeps – one in November, 2011 and the second in early March, 2012, occurred.

According to the Brazilian National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP), the ROV was submerged approximately 500 meters to the East from the Frade field border line, where it collected oil samples which should help with identifying the source of the leak.

So far, no oil slick can be seen on the surface of the sea.

Source

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Recap: Worldwide Field Development News (Mar 30 – Apr 5, 2012)

This week the SubseaIQ team added 8 new projects and updated 45 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.

Mediterranean Cooper Energy Preps Hammamet Appraisal Apr 4, 2012 – Cooper Energy is preparing to drill the Hammamet West-3 well in the Bargou permit offshore Tunisia. The company has awarded a contract for well management services to AGR Petroleum, which includes planning and executing drilling operations and post well activity. Drilling of the Hammamet West-3 well is targeted to commence in 4Q 2012. Hammamet was discovered in 1967 and appraised in 1990. Project Details: Hammamet West Adira Energy to Explore Yitzhak, Gabriella Licenses Apr 3, 2012 – Adira Energy is moving forward with plans to spud two exploration wells in late 2012 hoping to investigate Jurassic-aged fractured carbonates in the Syrian Arc structural trend, off the coast of Israel. The company said it is in the process of securing a rig to drill back-to-back wells in the Yitzhak and Gabriella licenses beginning in the fourth quarter of 2012. The Adira partnership will initially drill its first well within the Gabriella license to appraise a reservoir discovered by Isramco’s Yam-Yafo wildcat nearly two decades ago. The well tapped the Zohar formation, and flow rates at the time were about 800 bopd. The Gabriella prospect will be drilled in 394 feet (120 meters) of water to a target depth of about 16,076 feet (4,900 meters). S. America – Brazil Saipem Scores Gas Pipeline Gig for Lula Development Mar 30, 2012 – Petrobras awarded Saipem a new E&C offshore contract in Brazil for the Lula development. The EPCI contract is for the gas export trunkline Rota Cabiunas, situated in the Santos Basin pre-salt region, approximately 186 miles (300 kilometers) off the coast of the State of Sao Paulo. The development comprises the engineering and procurement of subsea equipment, and the installation of a 236-mile-long (380-kilometer-long) pipeline with a 24-inch diameter, in a maximum water depth of 7,218 feet (2,200 meters). The pipeline will connect the central gathering manifold in the Lula field, in the Santos Basin, to the onshore Processing Plant of Cabiunas, located in the Macae district, in the State of Rio de Janeiro. Work is slated for completion in 2Q2014. Project Details: Lula (Tupi) S. America – Other & Carib. Desire Acquires 3D Data over Sea Lion Complex Apr 3, 2012 – Desire Petroleum reported that a joint 3D seismic program with Rockhopper Exploration, using the Polarcus Nadia, was completed in May 2011. Overall, an additional 349,901 acres (1,416 square kilometers) of data was acquired within Desire’s licenses and adjacent open areas. The new seismic data is being integrated with reprocessing of the 2004 3D survey to provide a contiguous, merged volume over PL003, PL004 and most of PL005. The final processed 3D merge volume was delivered in early February 2012 and Desire says this will be the basis for a re-assessment of their prospect inventory. Results are expected later this year. Project Details: Sea Lion Shell to Appraise Zaedyus Apr 3, 2012 – Northpet announced that the Zaedyus consortium plans to commence drilling in mid-2012 on the Guyane permit, to follow-up on the Zaedyus oil discovery in late 2011. Appraisal drilling is planned to delineate the discovery. Shell, who took over as operator of the license, has contracted the Stena DrillMax ICE (UDW drillship) to commence operations mid-year subject to government consent. Project Details: Zaedyus Europe – North Sea Valiant Secures Rig Slot for Handcross Well Apr 5, 2012 – Valiant Petroleum has entered into a contract to secure a firm rig slot on the Stena Carron (UDW drillship) to drill the Handcross prospect located in UK Block 204/18b. Drilling is expected to commence within the first quarter of 2013. The Handcross prospect is a large stratigraphic trap, similar to the nearby Foinaven and Schiehallion fields, which benefits from a number of geophysical anomalies interpreted to reflect the presence of hydrocarbons in Paleocene sands. Project Details: Handcross Eni Brings Marulk Online Apr 5, 2012 – Eni has commenced production from the Marulk field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. Marulk is Eni’s first operating field in Norway and is part of the PL 122 license held by Eni (20 percent) with Statoil (50 percent) and Dong (30 percent). Marulk is a gas and condensate field with estimated reserves of 74.7 million barrels of oil equivalent and produces 20,000 boepd. Project Details: The Greater Norne Area Caledonia Redevelopment Project Makes Headway Apr 4, 2012 – The Caledonia field redevelopment project is progressing and sanctioning is expected in late 2012. First oil is targeted for 2012 with gas slated for 2014. East, West Rochelle to Come Online by Year-End Apr 4, 2012 – A processing tariff was agreed with the Scott owners and initial Rochelle modifications were made to the Scott topside facility during 2011. The development program has made good progress towards first gas from Rochelle in November 2012. The subsea fabrication work is on schedule and drilling rigs have been contracted to drill this summer. Project Details: Rochelle BG Dives Deep into Bream Development Apr 3, 2012 – BG Group announced plans to conduct development drilling at its Bream oil field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. Development plans call for seven wells. Drilling will commence in 4Q13 and last for about 13 months. The field was discovered in 1972. Project Details: Bream Cairn Energy Buys Agora Oil & Gas Apr 3, 2012 – Cairn Energy has agreed to buy Norwegian oil firm Agora Oil & Gas as part of a strategy to balance its portfolio of assets. Cairn will pay $450 million for Agora, which holds several assets in the UK and Norwegian North Sea. Agora holds a 15 percent stake in the Catcher P1430 license in the Central North Sea and a 20 percent interest in the Tybalt P1632 license in the Northern North Sea, along with nine other licenses. Project Details: Catcher DONG Reviewing Ipswich Data Apr 3, 2012 – Noreco reported that the Oselvar license consortium, which houses the Ipswich discovery, is currently reprocessing seismic data acquired from the license. This will improve the understanding of the size of the discovery and map a possible upside potential. Given a positive outcome of this study, plans will be made for further drilling. Ipswich was discovered in August 2008 when exploration well 1/3-11 and sidetrack 1/3-11 T2 on the Ipswich-prospect proved oil in rocks of Paleocene age. Project Details: Ipswich Lundin Looking to Appraise South East Tor Discovery Apr 3, 2012 – Lundin plans to further appraise the South East Tor discovery in license PL006C in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. Further appraisal drilling is required to delineate the reservoir and to better define the reserve base for a development plan. South East Tor was discovered in 1972 and appraised in 1988. Project Details: South East Tor Lundin Brings Gaupe Field Online Apr 2, 2012 – Lundin Petroleum has commenced production at the Gaupe field located in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. Gaupe has estimated gross recoverable reserves of approximately 31 MMboe and is expected to produce about 6 Mboepd. The field is a cross-border subsea tie-back to the Armada platform, located in the UK sector of the North Sea, and will contribute to the doubling of production to 70,000 boepd in late 2015. Project Details: Armada Xcite Moves Forward with Bentley Development Apr 2, 2012 – Xcite Energy reported that following the spudding of the Bentley 9/3b-7 well on March 18, 2012 by the jackup Rowan Norway (400′ ILC) good progress has been made in drilling the 36-inch hole. The 26-inch hole has been directionally drilled and the 20-inch surface casing has been set and cemented satisfactorily. Bently is under development with first oil slated for later this year. Project Details: Bentley Subsea 7 to Furnish Umbilicals, Flowlines for Cheviot Development Apr 2, 2012 – ATP Oil & Gas awarded Subsea 7 a SURF contract for the Cheviot field in the UK sector of the North Sea. The Cheviot field development will use a moored floating process facility which will import oil and gas from four satellite drill centers allowing oil to be exported via shuttle tankers and gas to be exported to a third party host facility. The contract scope includes the transportation and installation of flexible flowlines and risers, control umbilicals, a 2.6-mile-long (4.2-kilometer-long) 14-inch flexible oil export pipeline and a 30 mile-long (48 kilometer-long) 10-inch rigid gas pipeline, together with the fabrication and installation of associated subsea structures. The contract scope also includes post installation, trenching of the subsea lines, tie-in of the lines to the Octabuoy and drilling centers, testing and pre-commissioning activities for the entire field facilities. Offshore operations are slated to begin in 2014. Project Details: Cheviot Shell Grants EPCI Contract for Draugen Field Apr 2, 2012 – Shell and Ocean Installer have signed a Letter of Intent for the development of the Draugen field. The contract covers the EPCI services for further development of the subsea infrastructure at the Draugen field, in the context of Shell drilling four infill wells for the purpose of increasing the ultimate recovery factor and accelerating oil production at the field. Ocean Installer will be responsible for all phases of the operation, from planning and engineering to installation and establishment of connections. This includes: procurement and installation of approximately 11.5 miles (18.5 kilometers) oil production and gas lift flexible flowlines and jumpers including pull-in to the Draugen platform, installation of approximately 13-mile-long (21-kilometer-long) umbilicals including pull-in to the Draugen platform; procurement and installation of a T-manifold and protection covers; supply of rock dump; and detailed engineering. The project is expected to start-up immediately and is planned for completion in 2014. Project Details: Draugen Noreco Spuds Eik Prospect Mar 30, 2012 – Noreco has commenced drilling at exploration well 7228/1-4 on the Eik prospect in the Barents Sea. The well is being drilled by the Transocean Barents (UDW semisub). The partners in the license PL396 are Noreco (operator, 50 percent), Front Exploration (30 percent) and Petoro (20 percent). Project Details: Eik Total Mobilizing Rigs for Elgin Relief Well Mar 30, 2012 – Total is mobilizing two rigs to drill a relief well in an attempt to halt a gas leak from the Elgin platform in the North Sea, according to the U.K Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). The firm is also seeking a second solution of pumping heavy mud into the well, DECC added. “We believe the hydrocarbons are coming from a rock formation above the reservoir at a depth of 4,000 meters (13,120 feet),” a spokesperson for the firm told Rigzone. The Elgin/Franklin project has been shut-in since Monday, March 26. Project Details: Elgin/Franklin Aker Sails Goliat Subsea Manifolds to Field Location Mar 30, 2012 – Aker Solutions has completed the manufacturing and load-out of eight subsea manifolds and six riser bases for Eni’s Goliat project in the Barents Sea. The load-out commenced on March 27, 2012. Aker Solutions’ Goliat contract, signed in September 2009, consisted 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, 12 miles (20 kilometers) of steel tube umbilicals, work-over equipment and a tie-in and connection system. Goliat, the first oil field to be developed in the arctic waters of the Barents Sea, is scheduled to commence production in 2013. The field has a life expectancy of 15 years. Project Details: Goliat BP Augments Aker’s Maintenance, Modification Contract on Valhall Mar 30, 2012 – BP will extend the maintenance and modification contract with Aker Solutions, exercising an option in the existing agreement for the Ula, Valhall, Skarv, Hod and Tambar fields. Work under the extended contract will last until April 2014. The original maintenance and modification contract was signed in 2005. Scope of work under the contract includes maintenance support services and brownfield modification projects covering engineering, procurement, fabrication and offshore installation. Maintenance and modification work will help to increase oil recovery rate and extend the life of BP’s fields. Project Details: Valhall N. America – US GOM Technip to Install Lucius Subsea Equipment Apr 5, 2012 – Technip received a lump sum contract from Anadarko for the development of the Lucius field. The contract covers installation of a flexible flowline; multiple flexible gas lift jumpers; main gas lift and infield umbilicals; subsea distribution units; electrical; fiber optic and hydraulic flying leads; design and fabrication of the flexible flowline end termination; fabrication and installation of rigid jumpers; burial of flowlines; and flooding and hydro-testing of the flowline system. Offshore installation will occur in 2013 and 2014. Project Details: Lucius Shell, Nexen Continue Winning Streak at Appomattox Apr 2, 2012 – Shell has successfully drilled the northeast fault block of the Appomattox structure in the Gulf of Mexico. The company demonstrated contingent recoverable resource in the northeast block of approximately 215 MMboe, with a range of 120 to 370 MMboe of light oil. Future planned appraisal drilling will further refine this range. Project Details: Appomattox Asia – SouthEast Premier Oil Performs Workover Ops on Anoa Field Apr 4, 2012 – Premier Oil performed workovers on the A7 and A11 wells on the Anoa field, which added a further 30 MMcf/d of gas deliverability. A new oil well (A22) was successfully completed, which added around 1,500 bopd of incremental oil production. A three-well drilling campaign on the field’s West Lobe platform progressed well and included the discovery of new reserves in the deeper Lama reservoir below Anoa. In order to upgrade the compression facilities and to increase production capacity on the producing Anoa field, a major ‘brown-field’ development project has been sanctioned, extending the assumed field plateau and developing some 200 Bcf of gross field reserves. This project, known as Anoa Phase 4, will be completed in 2013. Premier to Bring Additional Wells Online at Chim Sao Apr 4, 2012 – Premier Oil reported that by year-end 2011, close to 2 MMboe had been produced from six production wells on the Chim Sao field, which came online in October 2011. An additional three production wells will be available to come on-stream in early 2012 when the four-well water injection system will come online. Furthermore, a well deepened into the Oligocene directly beneath the main field proved an estimated 56 feet (17 meters) of net hydrocarbon-bearing pay, and an additional well to be drilled in early 2012 will accelerate production from a shallow reservoir that has larger reserves than initially estimated. The CS-N2P well, a development production well for the Chim Sao project, intersected the shallow part of a previously undrilled fault terrace to the northwest of the Chim Sao field. The well encountered a 66 feet (20 meter) oil column in an independent closure within good quality Upper Dua sandstones. The plan is to further appraise this new accumulation in 2012 as a near-field tie-back opportunity. Project Details: Chim Sao Galoc Field Recommences Production Apr 2, 2012 – Otto Energy has recommenced production at the Galoc oil field offshore Palawan in the Philippines following a planned shutdown for refurbishment of the FPSO. During the shutdown, the FPSO Rubicon Intrepid underwent planned re-certification, maintenance, inspection and turret installation work. Otto said the upgrade of the FPSO mooring system should increase the reliability and uptime of the FPSO and is a crucial component of infrastructure to enable the Galoc Joint Venture to move ahead with a potential phase II development of the Galoc field. Project Details: Galoc Australia ConocoPhillips Spuds Boreas Apr 5, 2012 – ConocoPhillips has spud the Boreas-1 well in the Browse Basin offshore Australia. The well is located on a large tilted fault block which is part of the northeast trending structural high of the greater Poseidon structure. The objective of the well is to test the extent, presence and quality of reservoirs within the Boreas-1 fault block. ConocoPhillips is using the Transocean Legend semisub for the entire drilling campaign (consisting of five wells), which is expected to continue through 2013. The principal objective of the exploration program is to better define the size and quality of the hydrocarbon accumulation within the exploration permits which contain the greater Poseidon trend. Project Details: Boreas Africa – West Chariot O&G Spuds Tapir South Apr 5, 2012 – Chariot O&G has commenced exploratory drilling on well 1811/5-1 at its Tapir South prospect offshore Namibia. Drilling operations are being performed by the Maersk Deliverer (UDW semisub). The prospect has a 25 percent chance of success and a mean un-risked prospective resource potential of 604 million barrels of oil. Project Details: Tapir South Rialto Encounters Drilling Problems at Gazelle-P3 Well Apr 2, 2012 – Rialto Energy reported that while drilling the Gazelle-P3 development well, the drill-pipe became stuck. The drilling contractor, Transocean, is currently trying to rectify the rig equipment that encountered mechanical problems while trying to free the drill-pipe. It is estimated that the repairs to the rig and the subsequent operations to remedy the stuck-pipe situation will take two weeks, after which normal drilling operations will resume. Project Details: Gazelle Africa – Other Anadarko Hits Additional Gas Pay in Rovuma Basin Apr 4, 2012 – Anadarko made another gas find in the Rovuma Basin offshore Mozambique at its Barquentine-4 appraisal well. The Barquentine-4 well encountered 525 net feet (160 meters) of natural gas pay. This is the company’s ninth successful well in the complex, which is part of the larger Prosperidade complex that is estimated to hold recoverable resources of between 17 and 30 Tcf of gas. Drilling is slated to end in July 2012. The well is situated about 19 miles (31 kilometers) north of the Lagosta discovery well at the southern end of the Windjammer/Lagosta/Barquentine/Camarao gas complex. Project Details: Barquentine

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Brazil may shift jurisdiction of Chevron case

By Jeb Blount and Joshua Schneyer

RIO DE JANEIRO | Fri Mar 23, 2012 9:16pm EDT

(Reuters) – A judge in Campos, Brazil, could shift the criminal charges filed against Chevron and drill-rig operator Transocean to Rio de Janeiro, a decision that would remove a crusading prosecutor from the case.

Eduardo Santos de Oliveira, a federal prosecutor based in Campos, in Rio de Janeiro’s interior, told Reuters on Friday a jurisdictional review is under way, which could delay any formal criminal indictment of the firms and their employees for weeks.

Oliveira filed criminal charges against Chevron, Transocean and 17 of their employees in Brazil this week for alleged crimes related to a November offshore oil spill in Brazil’s Frade field, which Chevron operates.

He pledged to seek maximum prison sentences of 31 years against the firms’ executives.

Federal judge Claudio Girão Barreto will consider whether the companies must post bonds in Campos or whether the case should be moved to Rio de Janeiro. The judicial review normally takes around ten calendar days.

The review does not alter the content of the criminal charges, but it could remove the case from Oliveira’s turf and hand it to another team of prosecutors.

The question of jurisdiction stems from the location of the alleged crimes in a deep-sea oil field beyond Brazil’s territorial waters but within its 200-nautical-mile “exclusive economic zone.”

Oliveira said the judge had asked him to appear in court on Monday with more details about the case.

“I think moving the case to Rio de Janeiro would be a mistake,” said Oliveira in a telephone interview. “Chevron and Transocean want you to believe this happened on some foreign ship or platform in international waters. But the crime happened under the seabed, in physical Brazilian territory.”

Some Brazilian officials, including Senator Jorge Viana of the government’s ruling party, have called Oliveira’s charges over-aggressive. Viana told Reuters this week that the case could damage Brazil’s oil industry.

A 20 billion reais ($11 billion) civil suit filed earlier by Oliveira in Campos against Chevron and Transocean, its drilling contractor at Frade, has already been shifted to Rio de Janeiro’s capital. A judge ruled in January that Campos wasn’t the proper jurisdiction for the civil case, Brazil’s largest-ever environmental lawsuit.

Chevron’s November leak of 2,400 to 3,000 barrels of oil at the Frade field was the result of a pressure kick during drilling. Oliveira has said Chevron’s drilling was reckless and unsafe. The companies deny the charges.

Source

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Brazil: Odebrecht Takes Delivery of Delba III Rig

Tug Fairmount Summit has delivered the new build drilling rig ODN Delba III safely from the Persian Gulf to a location offshore Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The total voyage over a distance of 10,625 miles was performed with an average speed of 6.0 knots.

ODN Delba III is a semi submersible drilling rig for deep water operations build in Abu Dhabi for Odebrecht Drilling Services, part of Odebrecht S.A., a leading Brazilian multinational.

Odebrecht contracted Fairmount Marine to tow ODN Delba III from Muscat, Oman, to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. For this job the Fairmount Summit was mobilized to the Persian Gulf. During the towage at a stop- over at Cape Town, South Africa, some cargo runs were performed by the also contracted Fairmount Fuji. This multi-purpose DSV/supply vessel had just returned to Cape Town after a survey job on the Atlantic Ocean. The towage of ODN Delba III was Fairmount Marine’s second successful operation for Odebrecht in a short period. Earlier Fairmount Marine performed the towage of semi submersible drilling rig Norbe VI, a sister unit of ODN Delba II, for Odebrecht.

Fairmount Marine is a marine contractor for ocean towage and heavy lift transportation, headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Fairmount’s fleet of tugs consists of five modern super tugs of 205 tons bollard pull each, especially  designed for long distance towing, and a multipurpose support vessel. Fairmount Marine is part of Louis Dreyfus Armateurs Group.

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Brazil: OGX Encounters Huge Hydrocarbon Column in Santos Basin

OGX, a largest privately owned oil & gas company in Brazil, today announced that it has identified the presence of hydrocarbons in the Albian and Aptian sections of well 1-OGX-63-SPS in the BM-S-57 block, in the shallow waters of the Santos Basin. OGX holds a 100% working interest in this block.

“This discovery is important for its huge hydrocarbon column and net pay identified in the Albian section, as well as by the quality of the Aptian reservoir and its behavior,” commented Paulo Mendonça, General Executive Officer and Exploration Officer of OGX.

A hydrocarbon column of approximately 1,000 meters was encountered in Albian reservoirs with about 110 meters of net pay. The drilling of the well, which is still in progress, already reached the Aptian section of the reservoir identifying hydrocarbons through a high gas presence that resulted in a kick, which is already controlled.

The OGX-63 well, known as Fortaleza, is still in progress and located in the BM-S-57 block and is situated approximately 102 kilometers off the coast of the state of Rio de Janeiro at a water depth of approximately 155 meters. The Ocean Quest rig initiated drilling activities on October 08, 2011.

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Chevron Throws the Brakes on Current and Future Drilling Offshore Brazil

By gCaptain Staff

SAN RAMON, Calif., November 23, 2011 – Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) today reports that while its subsidiary, Chevron Brasil Upstream Frade Ltda., has not received formal notice from Brazil’s National Petroleum Agency (ANP) suspending its drilling license, the company has voluntarily suspended its current and future drilling operations, offshore Brazil. The voluntary suspension includes the company’s permitted pre-salt wells in the Frade field with the exception of current plug and abandonment activities. The suspension is indefinite. Chevron acknowledges, however, that ANP has posted a notice of suspension to its website.

Chevron’s decision to suspend its drilling operations has no impact on its current production in the Frade field or on other Frade field operations. Production from the Frade field is approximately 79,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (approximately 36,000 barrels net).

Chevron had previously suspended development drilling in the Frade field on November 9 after it became aware of oil migrating from seep lines in the ocean floor.

Chevron also reports that the volume of oil currently contained in the sheen on the ocean’s surface has been further reduced to about one barrel through cleaning and dispersion methods approved by Brazilian authorities. Chevron was successful in stopping the primary source of the oil sheen ten days ago.

The company reiterated that it adheres to all the rules and regulation of the Government of Brazil and its agencies.

Updated video footage of the seeps on the ocean floor and current photos of the sheen on the ocean’s surface are available on Chevron’s Media Updates page.

Chevron is one of the world’s leading integrated energy companies, with subsidiaries that conduct business worldwide. The company is involved in virtually every facet of the energy industry. Chevron explores for, produces and transports crude oil and natural gas; refines, markets and distributes transportation fuels and lubricants; manufactures and sells petrochemical products; generates power and produces geothermal energy; provides energy efficiency solutions; and develops the energy resources of the future, including biofuels. Chevron is based in San Ramon, Calif. More information about Chevron is available at http://www.chevron.com.

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