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Exploration & Development — Quick Takes
ExxonMobil eyes deepwater block off Liberia
ExxonMobil Corp. will acquire a 70% interest in the production-sharing contract governing Block LB-13 off Liberia following Canadian Overseas Petroleum Ltd.'s acquisition of a 100% interest from the current owner.
ExxonMobil will pay COPL's Bermuda unit $55 million plus the unit's portion of the first well to be drilled to a maximum of $36 million. If less than $36 million is spent on the unit's proportionate cost for the first well, the balance will be applied towards the unit's costs of a second well if drilled.
ExxonMobil also will pay the unit's share of joint venture costs of $6 million up to the completion of the first well. The unit's equity interest in the block will be 30% upon closing, and ExxonMobil will be the block's designated operator.
National Oil Co. of Liberia's approval is required for both transactions. COPL and its Bermuda unit have agreed with the current owner, subject to certain conditions being satisfied or waived, to pay $85 million for a 100% interest in LB-13, including $45-50 million in cash and the rest common shares.
The 2,400 sq km block has an 8-year term that began in May 2007, divided into three phases of 4, 2, and 2 years. The second phase commenced in May.
In 2010, 2,200 sq km of long-offset 3D seismic was shot to evaluate the oil potential of Cretaceous sands analogous to the recent deepwater oil discoveries off Ghana and Sierra Leone. Reviews of the seismic have identified the potential for a number of Cretaceous turbidite sand stratigraphic traps on the block that possess strong seismic AVO anomalies and other direct hydrocarbon indicators that possibly suggest the presence of hydrocarbons.
Noble sees East Mediterranean oil, gas potential
Noble Energy Inc. said it has identified 12 more prospects with more than 20 tcf of gross unrisked resource potential in the eastern Mediterranean that target sands equivalent to those it discovered at Tamar off Israel.
The company said its acreage also has total gross unrisked deep oil potential of 3.7 billion bbl, and it plans to reenter the Leviathan discovery well to test the concept by early 2012.
Noble is drilling the Cyprus A prospect, which has an estimated gross mean resource range of 3 to 9 tcf and a 60% probability of geologic success. It continues to appraise Leviathan with the drilling of the third well while evaluating field development concepts and commercialization options.
Noble-operated Mari-B field off Israel has achieved record levels of production this year and since 2004 has lowered Israel's energy costs by more than $7 billion and reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 17 million metric tons. At nearby Noa field, a recently sanctioned development project is expected to add 100 MMcfd of deliverability in mid 2012, partly offsetting anticipated depletion at Mari-B.
Meanwhile in deep water, appraisal work has increased the gross resource estimate of Noble's Tamar discovery to 9 tcf from 8.4 tcf. The Tamar development project is on schedule for commissioning in late 2012. The platform jacket, deck fabrication, and pipeline installation are 50% complete, and onshore facility expansion is under way.
Noble is in final stages of sales contract negotiations with Israel Electric Corp. and is in active discussions with existing and new customers. Israel gas demand remains robust, and anticipated base growth is 10%/year throughout the decade.
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