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Drilling & Production — Quick Takes
BNK Petroleum continues Polish drilling program
BNK Petroleum Inc. plans to start drilling its first well on the Trzebielino concession in Poland by Feb. 29 and then upon completion of the Trzebielino well, the rig is scheduled to move to the first Bytow drillsite, the Camarillo, Calif., company said in an operational update Jan. 8.
BNK subsidiary Indiana Investments Sp. z o.o. holds 100% interest in the Trzebielino and Bytow licenses.
BNK expects the Trzebielino and Bytow wells will encounter richer, thicker organic shales than its Saponis Lebork S-1 well encountered.
Technical evaluation indicates that the Ordovician on the Trzebielino and Bytow concessions was deposited in a deeper basin environment than previously drilled wells, BNK said, adding that it plans to restimulate and test the Lebork S-1 well when temperatures warm (OGJ Online, July 29, 2011).
BNK holds 195,000 net acres in the Baltic basin through Saponis Investments Sp. z o.o. and another 880,000 adjacent net acres through Indiana Investments.
Diamond Offshore to build semi with existing hull
A Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. subsidiary signed a contract with Keppel AmFELS shipyard in Brownsville, Tex., to build a moored semisubmersible drilling rig using an existing hull.
Total cost is expected to be $300 million. Delivery is scheduled for third-quarter 2013.
Diamond Offshore Pres. and CEO Larry Dickerson said the Ocean Onyx will be built from a Diamond Offshore cold-stacked unit, which operated as the Ocean Voyager.
Dickerson expects the Ocean Onyx can be placed into service in half the time and at half the cost of a newbuild semi.
The Ocean Onyx will be designed to operate in 6,000 ft of water. It will have a variable deck load of 5,000 long tons, a five-ram blowout preventer, and housing for 140 people.
BSSE, USCG complete review of Cuba-bound offshore rig
A review by the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement and the US Coast Guard of a mobile offshore drilling unit bound for Cuban waters found the vessel generally complies with existing international and US standards, the two US agencies jointly announced.
BSEE and USCG said the review of Saipem SPA's Scarabeo 9 ultradeepwater 6th generation semisubmersible drilling rig was completed on Jan. 9 off Trinidad and Tobago at the invitation of its operator, Repsol YPF SA, which has agreed to abide by those standards. The agencies emphasized that they have no legal or regulatory authority, and their review did not confer any form of certification on endorsement under US or international law.
The agencies reviewed the vessel's construction, drilling equipment, and safety systems including lifesaving and fire-fighting equipment, emergency generators, dynamic positioning systems, machinery spaces, and blowout preventer in anticipation of Scarabeo 9's scheduled work off Cuba in the coming months. They said in anticipation of increased oil and gas drilling in the Caribbean Basin and Gulf of Mexico, the US is participating in multilateral discussions with the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, and Mexico on a broad range of issues including, drilling safety, ocean modeling, and oil spill preparedness and response that are providing valuable information on each country's plans and capabilities that will improve bilateral and regional cooperation should a major pollution incident occur.
Marubeni buys 35% stake in Eagle Ford shale project
Marubeni Corp. subsidiary Marubeni Eagle Ford Ltd. agreed to buy a 35% stake in the Eagle Ford shale oil and gas play from Dallas-based Hunt Oil Co.
"We strongly believe that the shale oil and gas play will be spreading all over the world," Marubeni said, adding that it would expand by acquiring quality shale oil and gas assets in the US and elsewhere.
The Japanese trading house said the Texas project, which covers 52,000 acres of oil and gas leases, plans to drill several hundred wells sequentially over 5-10 years.
Marubeni and Hunt also agreed to jointly acquire additional acreage in the Eagle Ford shale oil and gas area.
Marubeni is the most recent oversea firm to buy US shale asset stakes, following purchases by China Petrochemical Corp. (Sinopec) and Total SA.
Recently, Sinopec paid Devon Energy Corp. $2.2 billion to purchase a one-third stake in five US shale oil and gas fields, while Total paid $2.3 billion for a minority stake in Chesapeake Energy Corp.'s Ohio shale discovery.
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