Albania
San Leon Energy PLC has identified several large oil and gas prospects across the many petroleum systems from new 2D and 3D seismic on the 4,208 sq km Durresi license in the southern Adriatic Sea offshore Albania.
Six source rock intervals have been identified with several potential oil reservoirs expected in Mesozoic carbonates and flysch as well as numerous gas reservoirs in the shallower Tertiary clastic deposits. The San Leon subsurface team continues to identify prospects across the license.
San Leon said the 840 sq km of 3D seismic has revealed several large structural oil and gas prospects and is revealing large stratigraphic potential. The possibility of using seismic amplitudes to greatly reduce exploratory risk further demonstrates the high potential of offshore Albania.
San Leon is interviewing potential partners and plans to drill the first of two exploratory wells in late 2012 or 2013. San Leon has a 75% participating interest in the block, and Beach Energy Ltd., Adelaide, has 25%.
Bahamas
Initial results from a 3D seismic survey on Bahamas blocks is encouraging, and technical studies and well planning represent the last phase of derisking in exploratory drilling preparation by March 2013, said Bahamas Petroleum Co. PLC.
Data quality is excellent, and data volumes have been received in both time and depth. Detailed interpretation is under way and will form the basis for well location selection, well design, and planning, the company said (see map, OGJ, July 13, 2009, p. 34).
Processing at this initial stage has been completed with 4 ms sampling and three tomographic velocity iterations. Further processing will be carried out in coming months with more detailed analysis and interpretation refined for specific targets, mapping of seismic facies, and attribute analysis.
Early stage interpretation of the new data confirmed and better defines the prospective structures seen on the previous 2D data.
The data provide encouragement regarding source maturity and fetch area. The 3D indicates the “basement” to be deeper than interpreted previously, implying a thicker, deeper Jurassic source rock section. Further, the interpretation indicates a uniform southwest dip under the Cretaceous platform indicating access to a large fetch area toward the Cuban mainland under the North Cuban basin.
Colombia
NCT EG Energy Group Colombia has gauged an oil discovery at the Mani-1 well on the Llanos 27 block in Colombia.
Canadian partners in the block said the well, the first in an exploratory program on the block, went to 10,850 ft TD.
Initial production rates were 1,510 b/d of fluid with a 32% water cut, equating to 1,025 b/d of 14° gravity oil. During the course of the following 57-hr test, rates improved to 2,310 b/d of fluid and a 16% water cut, or 1,940 b/d of 16° gravity oil from Upper Mirador at 9,482-86 ft. Extended testing is planned subject to ministerial approval expected to take as long as 4 weeks.
Quetzal Energy Ltd. and Brownstone Energy Inc., both of Toronto, are each paying 50% of the cost to drill and test the well to earn private participating interests of 45.275% before payout and 34.25% after payout.
Congo (former Zaire)
A $30 million work program will begin within weeks on Block III in Congo (former Zaire) near the border with Uganda, said SacOil Holdings Ltd., Bryanston, South Africa.
Total E&P RDC, operator with 60% interest, ran an airborne gravity and magnetic feasibility study and collected satellite imagery of the topography, physiography, and vegetation of the block in the past 6 months to provide a georeferenced numerical model for future operations.
An airborne gravity and magnetic survey and 2D seismic on the northern area outside Virunga National Park will be performed. A well may be drilled if promising structures are identified. SacOil is carried for the entire work program.
Iraq
Genel Energy PLC plans to acquire a 40% undivided interest in the Chia Surkh block in Iraq’s Kurdistan region from Longford Energy Inc., Calgary. Genel already owns a 20% interest in the block.
As part of the transaction Longford is to receive $68 million, of which $42 million cash will be paid to Longford and $26 million will be paid directly to the Kurdistan Regional Government in settlement of outstanding capacity building bonus payments and related interest due under the Chia Surkh block production sharing contract.
Longford acquired a 40% interest in the PSC in 2009. The 3-year first exploration term was set to expire on June 11. Under the minimum work program obligations, Longford has an outstanding commitment to drill two exploratory wells and to a $20 million minimum expenditure in the next 5 months that cannot be realistically fulfilled financially or operationally. This expected nonperformance, and the risk of contract expiration and cancellation, was a key consideration in the sale to Genel.
If Longford is unable to secure shareholder approval for the transaction by Mar. 1, it has agreed to assign its interest in the block back to the KRG without compensation. As consideration for this amendment, the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Kurdistan Region has indicated to Longford that it will support the transaction when submitted for final approval to the regional oil and gas council.
Kazakhstan
Aral Petroleum Capital LLP has spudded Well 306 in East Zhagabulak field in the North Caspian basin in Kazakhstan 1 mile south of Well 308, which is to be tested in February.
Aral Petroleum, held 40% by Caspian Energy Inc., Toronto, and 60% by Asia Sixth Energy, invested $34.31 million on the North Block in 2011 compared with the $25.84 million obliged to be spent, Caspian Energy said.
Well 308, cased to 4,775 m on the strength of electric log analysis, lies midway between producing wells 213 and 301, which are producing a combined 400 b/d of oil.
New rules issued by the Ministry of Oil and Gas require filing of a technology scheme to support each production license. Information obtained from drilling Well 306 is a final component of the technology scheme for East Zhagabulak, which when approved will validate the field’s full 25-year production period, Caspian Energy said.
Geological conditions for Well 306 are the same as for Well 308. Well 306 targets the same hydrocarbon-bearing horizons; KT-I at 3,360-3,879 m and KT-II at 4,070-4,700 m.
Aral is also drilling Well 316 in West Zhagabulak field with the aim of extending its production license over a larger area. Aral holds a 3-year exploration permit for the North Block, which contains several prospective areas, including East and West Zhagabulak.
Namibia
Spectrum Geo Inc., in partnership with CGGVeritas and National Petroleum Corp. of Namibia, is shooting a 2D multiclient seismic survey in the deepwater Orange basin off Namibia. Some 7,000 km of long offset data covering both held and open blocks will be processed through full prestack time migration. Final deliverables are expected in June.
Norway
Results from the 16/5-2S appraisal well will most likely reduce the current resource estimate for the southern part of the Avaldsnes discovery in the North Sea off Norway, said Lundin Petroleum AB, Stockholm.
Well 16/5-2S, 8.5 km south of the Avaldsnes 16/2-6 discovery well and 4 km south of the 16/2-7 appraisal well, encountered a 15-m Jurassic sequence of which the upper 8 m has excellent reservoir quality. Top reservoir was found deeper than expected and below the oil-water contact. Good hydrocarbon shows were observed below the oil-water contact but were currently evaluated as not producible.
Well 16/5-2S is the first of an Avaldsnes appraisal program of at least four wells in PL501 during 2012. This appraisal campaign will address key development planning uncertainties to ensure an efficient and optimal field development process.
Geophysical studies and possible appraisal drilling will be required to determine whether the deeper than prognoses top reservoir depth at this location is not a local effect.
The 16/5-2S well went to 2,042 m measured depth in 111 m of water. The next appraisal well is 16/2-11, after which a revised resource estimate will be released.
Lundin Norway AS is the operator of PL501 with 40% interest. Partners are Statoil Petroleum AS with 40% and Maersk Oil Norway with 20%.
Papua New Guinea
InterOil Corp., Houston, has spudded the Triceratops-2 appraisal well in PPL 237 in Papua New Guinea. The well, 2.1 miles west of the 1959 Bwata-1 gas-condensate discovery well and 2.9 miles southwest of Triceratops-1, is projected to 7,579 ft. It is predicted to penetrate the top of the carbonate reservoir 1,500 ft higher than the Bwata-1 gas-water contact. Bwata-1 tested as much as 28 MMcfd of gas and defined a 512-ft gas column, InterOil said.
More than 128 line-km of InterOil seismic has defined a larger structural closure than previously recognized. InterOil observed seismic facies character and geometries analogous to the Antelope reefal build-up.
Somalia
Horn Petroleum Corp. has spudded the Shabeel-1 wildcat on the Dharoor block in Puntland, northern Somalia, toward a planned total depth of 3,800 m, said Africa Oil Corp., Vancouver, BC, which owns a 51% equity interest in Horn Petroleum.
Operations have also started on the Shabeel North-1 well with the setting of the 30-in. surface casing and the drilling of a 50-m pilot hole. The Sakson 501 rig will be used to drill both wells, and drilling and evaluation time is put at 90 days each.
The wells satisfy the first exploration period minimum work obligations of the production sharing contracts for both the Dharoor and Nugaal blocks. They are the first exploratory wells to be drilled in over 20 years in Somalia.
The Shabeel and Shabeel North prospects are on a Jurassic aged rift system that is part of the same system that has proven to be highly productive of oil in Yemen’s Masila and Shabwa basins. The reservoirs in Somalia are expected to be sandstones and carbonates of the Lower Cretaceous and Jurassic systems analogous to Yemen.
Alberta
FairWest Energy Corp., Calgary, has spudded its first horizontal well targeting light oil in the Mannville formation at Berry Creek, Alta., 115 miles east-northeast of Calgary.
If successful, the well could be followed by others as the firm embarks on an aggressive development program in the light oil resource play. FairWest is operator with a 75% working interest.
FairWest assets at Berry Creek include working interests in 10,400 gross acres of land, 11 producing oil wells, 14 producing liquids-rich gas wells, more than 50 km of gas gathering lines, and a company-operated gas processing and refrigeration facility.
The firm added to its Berry Creek holdings last year with acquisition of working interests in 1,440 gross acres of land, four oil wells, one gas well, associated wellsite facilities and gas pipelines. It just completed a $600,000 3D seismic program at Berry Creek.
Alaska
Buccaneer Energy Ltd., Sydney, started gas production from its Kenai Loop-1 well onshore Alaska’s Cook Inlet on Jan. 14. The firm will sell gas into Enstar’s winter daily auction, a system by which gas producers are advised of Enstar’s requirements for the next 24 hr and bid the price and volume to sell gas. Enstar’s winter demand requirement is based mainly on weather and can fluctuate daily. Buccaneer also has the ability to sell gas to ConocoPhillips under its sales deal with the local LNG facility if Enstar does not buy the well’s full daily production.
Buccaneer anticipates producing the well at 5 MMcfd for 2-3 months while monitoring reservoir performance. More Kenai Loop drilling is likely to begin in second quarter before the start of the firm’s Cook Inlet program.
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