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Noble Energy Hits Net Pay at Gunflint Well in U.S. Gulf of Mexico
Noble Energy, Inc. today announced that the second appraisal well at Gunflint well in the Gulf of Mexico, successfully encountered 109 feet of net pay within the primary reservoir targets.
Results of drilling, wireline logs and reservoir data have confirmed an estimated gross resource range(1) of 65 to 90 million barrels of oil equivalent in the primary structure, which was in line with Company expectations. The Mississippi Canyon 992 #1 well, located one mile west of the original discovery well, was drilled to a total depth of approximately 32,800 feet in a water depth of 6,100 feet. Commercial hydrocarbons were not encountered in the deeper exploration objective. Additional exploration potential remains in an adjacent three-way structure to the north, a candidate for future exploration following development of the confirmed resources.
Once operations are completed, the well will be suspended for future use. The net cost of drilling the lower exploration zone was approximately $15 million, which will be expensed in the second quarter of 2013.
Susan Cunningham, Noble Energy’s Senior Vice President Deepwater Gulf of Mexico, West Africa and Frontier Regions, commented, “Our appraisal program at Gunflint solidifies our plans for a subsea tieback development, with sanction planned for later this year. Along with our Big Bend discovery, we now have two major projects in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico targeting first production at the end of 2015. These developments represent significant value to our overall portfolio.”
Noble Energy plans to move the drilling rig to Troubadour, a low-risk amplitude prospect offsetting the Big Bend discovery, over the next several weeks. The well is expected to reach total depth late in the third quarter.
Noble Energy operates Gunflint with a 31.14 percent working interest. Other partners in the project are Ecopetrol America Inc. with 31.50 percent, Marathon Oil Company with 18.23 percent and Samson Offshore, LLC with 19.13 percent.
Shell Starts Drilling at Cebus Well, Offshore French Guiana
Shell has started drilling at Cebus prospect (GM-ES-4), the third well of the current four well exploration programme in the Guyane Maritime Permit (French Guiana), Northern Petroleum, which holds a stake in the permit, has announced.
The drilling operations are being conducted with the Stena Ice Max drillship.
Northern through holding 50 per cent of Northpet Investments Limited, owns a net 1.25 per cent interest in the offshore exploration licence ‘Guyane Maritime’. Northern is in partnership with Shell (Operator, holding 45 per cent), Total (25 per cent), Tullow Oil (27.5 per cent) and Wessex Exploration (also holding 1.25 per cent through owning the remaining 50 per cent interest in Northpet Investment Limited).
Keith Bush, Chief Operating Officer of Northern stated:
“This is a new, exciting opportunity for the joint venture to further establish the oil production potential in French Guiana. We look forward to the results of this well with great interest.”
Rigless suspended-well abandonment
Offshore Installation Services (OIS), an Acteon company, has successfully completed its 16th rigless suspended-well abandonment campaign involving multiple operators in the Southern North Sea. The multi-operator model for programmes of this kind can deliver significant customer benefits in terms of cost-effectiveness. A total of nine mudline wells in categories 1, 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3 were abandoned during the operation including four on behalf of GDF SUEZ E&P UK Ltd. and two for RWE Dea.
The scope of work for OIS, part of Acteon’s activity and resource management business, included the initial approval processes; formulating the contracting strategy; developing detailed procedures; procurement; appointing specialist service providers; overall logistics; and recycling and disposing of the recovered wellheads.
OIS conducted the two-phase abandonment operation from a chartered DP2-class anchor-handling tug supply vessel (AHTS). During phase one, a proprietary twin low-pressure packer tool from Acteon sister company Claxton Engineering Services Ltd. was deployed through the vessel’s moon pool to set cement plugs across all the casing annuli. The second phase involved abrasive severance of the wells using Claxton Engineering’s SABRE cutting tool.
“We have a strong track record in providing commercially efficient decommissioning solutions which are particularly important for non-revenue-generating assets,” said OIS vice president of commercial and business development Tom Selwood. “Multi-operator campaigns such as this, enable operators to share the associated costs which, when combined with the rigless nature of our offering, makes this the most cost-effective way to comply with UK oil and gas decommissioning legislation.”
Max Proctor, GDF SUEZ E&P UK drilling manager, added, “We are committed to fulfilling our responsibility to the environment as an operator and are leading the way in the North Sea with the decommissioning of redundant wells. We started this campaign immediately after the request came from DECC for operators to fully abandon suspended wells by reviewing the history of the wells and confirming the status of each with an independent well examiner. OIS is a valued partner of GDF SUEZ and the success of this project is testament to the team’s strong technical skills and experience.”
Since 1996, the OIS team has successfully completed more than 100 well decommissioning projects without a single lost-time incident.
Tullow: No Commercial Oil at Zaedyus-2 Well (French Guiana)
Tullow Oil plc (Tullow) announces that the Zaedyus-2 appraisal well (GM-ES-2), offshore French Guiana, has completed drilling. The well, drilled 5km up-dip from the Zaedyus-1 well, encountered a total of 85 metres of reservoir quality sands with oil shows in several objectives but did not encounter commercial hydrocarbons at this location.
Results of drilling, logging and sampling to date have shown that the reservoirs at this location are not in communication with Zaedyus-1. Integration of information obtained from the two wells with the 3D seismic data suggests the reservoirs are geologically separated from Zaedyus-1.
As Zaedyus-2 is up-dip and disconnected from Zaedyus-1, this result has no bearing on the bulk of the undrilled prospectivity which is located downdip of Zaedyus-1. Future drilling on the Zaedyus fan system should therefore target the significant upside in the Zaedyus down-dip prospects and the down-dip elements of Zaedyus Deep.
The Zaedyus-2 well was drilled in the Guyane Maritime licence using the Stena DrillMax Dynamically Positioned Drillship. The well was drilled in water depths of 1,894 metres and has been drilled to a depth of 6,200 metres and logging operations are ongoing. The second well in this four-well programme is Priodontes-1, targeting an adjacent prospect within the same Cingulata fan system, and is expected to commence drilling in early December.
Tullow has a 27.5% stake in the Guyane Maritime licence and is partnered by Shell, who are operator and hold a 45% stake, Total (25%) and Northpet (2.5%), a company owned 50% by Northern Petroleum plc and 50% by Wessex Exploration plc.
Angus McCoss, Exploration Director, commented today: “While the Zaedyus-2 well has not proved an up-dip extension of the Zaedyus discovery towards the apex of the fan, the well has provided very valuable data for the exploration and appraisal strategy of the Cingulata fan system going forward. The French Guiana block remains highly prospective, particularly down-dip and still offer excellent potential for multiple exploration successes. These early lessons learned by the joint venture are being incorporated into our ongoing well campaign.”
Tullow: No Commercial Oil at Zaedyus-2 Well (French Guiana)| Offshore Energy Today.
USA: Helix Marks Strong Market Demand for Deepwater Well Intervention Services
Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. announced that it has been awarded its initial customer contractual commitments for the Helix 534. The Helix 534 was acquired in August from Transocean and is undergoing modifications and upgrades necessary for conversion into a well intervention vessel at the Jurong Shipyard in Singapore.
The Helix 534 is scheduled to sail from Singapore during the first quarter of 2013 and after transit to the Gulf of Mexico, is expected to be placed into service in late second quarter 2013. Backlog for the Helix 534 involves work in the Gulf of Mexico and extends into 2016.
Meanwhile, the Q4000 has extended its strong contractual backlog through 2014, with strong customer interest into 2016.
Helix also announced that the Skandi Constructor has also received its initial contractual awards. The Skandi Constructor is a chartered vessel and is expected to enter the Helix well intervention fleet in the spring of 2013. Its initial contract involves work in the North Sea and follows with a project off the eastern Canadian coast.
Helix’s two existing North Sea based well intervention vessels, the Seawell and the Well Enhancer, have been awarded customer contracts into the fourth quarter of 2013.
Owen Kratz, President and Chief Executive Officer of Helix, stated, “The recent contract awards for our two new additions to the well intervention fleet, the Helix 534 and the Skandi Constructor, as well as the growing backlog for our existing fleet, reflects the strong market demand for deepwater well intervention services as well as Helix’s market leadership for these services. Furthermore, customer interest for our newbuild semisubmersible well intervention vessel, the Q5000, remains high. The Q5000 is currently under construction at the Jurong Shipyard in Singapore and is scheduled to enter the fleet in early 2015.”
Subsea World News – USA: Helix Marks Strong Market Demand for Deepwater Well Intervention Services.
- Helix Updates Well Intervention Fleet Backlog (dailyfinance.com)
- A Day in the Life of Keith Schultz, Captain of Helix ESG’s Q4000 Well Intervention Rig (gcaptain.com)
Dragon’s Caspian Well Flows at 1,462 BOPD (Turkmenistan)
Dragon Oil plc, an international oil and gas exploration, development and production company, today publishes the results of successful completion and initial testing for the Dzheitune (Lam) A/176 development well.
The Dzheitune (Lam) A/176 well was completed as a single producer to a depth of 1,786 metres. The well tested at an initial production rate of 1,462 barrels of oil per day; deeper sections will be targeted when this well is deepened in the future. The jack-up rig has moved to the next slot and is currently drilling the Dzheitune (Lam) A/177 development well.
Dragon’s Caspian Well Flows at 1,462 BOPD (Turkmenistan)| Offshore Energy Today.
- Oil and gas exploration opens off North coast (nzherald.co.nz)
- Caspian Sea rigs (en.trend.az)
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)
Rialto Energy: Encouraging Oil Shows at Gazelle-P4 Well (Ivory Coast)
Rialto Energy Limited, an international exploration and production company has drilled the Gazelle-P4 Development Well, offshore Côte D’Ivoire to the the planned final depth of 3522m MDRT (2720m TVDSS).
This has taken 28 days from spud to TD. According to the company’s report the well has encountered encouraging oil and gas shows through the Upper Cenomanian and gas shows through the Lower Cenomanian reservoir intervals. These will now be evaluated by wire line logging, fluid and pressure sampling to properly evaluate the shows, and identify potential test intervals.
Rialto will now release the Transocean GSF Monitor jack-up rig to focus on the FEED for the Gazelle field development and to further refine exploration options for its Cote d’Ivoire acreage.
Rialto is the Operator (85% working interest) of the CI-202 block offshore Côte d’Ivoire. The CI-202 block contains the Gazelle Field, which is the current focus of development, with first production expected by early 2014.
A Competent Person’s Report completed in September 2011 by RPS Energy Services in relation to CI-202 certified Total Mean Contingent Resources of 50 MMbbls of liquids and 396 Bcf of gas, in addition to Total Mean Prospective Resources of 511 MMbbls of liquids and 1,785 Bcf of gas.
Rialto Energy: Encouraging Oil Shows at Gazelle-P4 Well (Ivory Coast)| Offshore Energy Today.
Continents of the World
Mb50's "Liquid Mud" Rant 