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Drilling & Production — Quick Takes
Nexen signs North Sea drilling contract
Nexen Petroleum signed a drilling contract with Ensco PLC to hire the Ensco 120, a harsh-environment jack up rig that Nexen will use on its Golden Eagle development in the central North Sea to drill at least 10 wells.
The estimated initial contract is $120 million. The contract is expected to start during fourth-quarter 2013 following systems integration testing and mobilization. Terms allow Nexen to extend the contract through 11 one-well options, potentially increasing the contract value by an estimated $140 million.
The Ensco 120, now under construction at Keppel FELS shipyard in Singapore, will be capable of operating in up to 400 ft of water. The jack up design enables large, multiwell platform programs, ultradeep gas programs, and up to 40,000 ft total drilling depth.
The rig will feature high-temperature, high-pressure equipment, a proprietary Ensco high-capacity design cantilever envelope, 2.5 million lb quad derrick, automated hands-free offline pipe handling systems, ultra-high capacity jacking and fixation systems, 150-person quarters, and strict noise and ergonomic standards.
The Ensco 120 is the first in a series of three such newbuild jack ups. The Ensco 121 and Ensco 122 are scheduled for delivery in fourth-quarter 2013 and third-quarter 2014, respectively.
Lundin lets contract for Brynhild development
A unit of Lundin Petroleum AB signed a 700 million kroner contract with Aker Solutions for the engineering, procurement, and construction of a subsea production system for the Brynhild project, offshore Norway.
Brynhild, discovered in 1992, is in about 80 m of water on Block 7/7 in production license 148, adjacent to the Norwegian-UK border. Lundin plans to develop the field with three subsea wells tied back to the Shell-operated Pierce floating, production, and offloading vessel on Blocks 23/22a and 23/27 in the UK North Sea.
Lundin estimates that Brynhild holds about 20 million boe and plans to produce the field at rates up to 12,000 boe/d.
The company submitted a development and operation plan for Brynhild field (formerly called Nemo) to the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy in mid-2011 (OGJ, Aug. 8, 2011, Newsletter).
The scope of work under the contract with Aker Solutions includes the delivery of one template-manifold structure, one riser base, three subsea trees, three wellhead systems, control system, a tie-in system, 38 km of umbilicals, high-pressure riser, and rental tooling. The contract contains several options for additional equipment, including other field developments.
Aker Solutions will primarily perform the management, engineering, and procurement of the subsea production system from Oslo. It plans to fabricate the subsea trees in Tranby, Norway, the template-manifolds in Egersund, Norway, the umbilical in Moss, Norway, and deliver the wellhead systems from Aberdeen. Its service base in Aagotnes, Norway, will handle the installation and commissioning work. Aker Solutions expects to make final deliveries in second-quarter 2013.
Petronas, Shell plan EOR projects off Malaysia
Petronas Carigali Sdn. Bhd. and Shell Malaysia signed an agreement for two 30-year production-sharing contracts for enhanced oil recovery projects offshore Sarawak and Sabah.
Shell estimates the EOR projects will increase recovery factors to 50% from 36% in the Baram Delta (BDO) and North Sabah fields. It expects to produce an additional 90,000-100,000 boe/d from the projects and estimates that the projects will extend field life beyond 2040.
The technology planned for the North Sabah fields could potentially lead to the first field-scale offshore chemical EOR project in the world, according to Shell.
The new agreement builds on the existing BDO and North Sabah PSCs.
Petronas Carigali holds a 60% interest in the BDO production sharing contract (expiry 2018) and is operator while Shell holds the remaining 40%.
The North Sabah PSC (expiry 2019) is Shell operated with each company holding an equal 50% share.
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