Flemish Pass appraisal work advances; rig contracted for White Rose

Dec. 8, 2015
Statoil ASA and partner Husky Energy Inc. continue to advance appraisal work on the Bay du Nord oil discovery offshore Newfoundland and Labrador.

Statoil ASA and partner Husky Energy Inc. continue to advance appraisal work on the Bay du Nord oil discovery offshore Newfoundland and Labrador.

Drilled by the West Hercules drilling rig since late 2014, the Bay du Nord appraisal program has been “progressing well and further drilling is planned for 2016,” said Asim Ghosh, Husky chief executive officer. “We expect the results of this appraisal to further increase our understanding of the scope of this significant opportunity.”

Results from a sidetrack in 2013 indicated 300-600 million bbl of recoverable oil at the Bay du Nord discovery (OGJ Online, Sept. 26, 2013).

Statoil as operator holds 65% interest in the Bay du Nord, Mizzen, and Harpoon discoveries in the Flemish Pass. Husky holds the remaining 35%.

In the Jeanne d’Arc basin offshore Newfoundland and Labrador, Husky says it continues to maintain stable, high-netback production, and is extending the life of the main White Rose field through a series of staged satellite extensions and development wells.

A 2-year contract has been signed with a dayrate of $275,000 to secure the harsh-environment Henry Goodrich semisubmersible rig, starting from the mid-2016 timeframe, from Transocean Ltd., which says the rig’s estimated contract backlog excluding mobilization is $200 million.

The rig will be used for ongoing development drilling at the South White Rose extension and North Amethyst field, and near-field exploration. Production startup was reported in June from the first well of the South White Rose extension (OGJ Online, June 29, 2015); while the second well’s startup was reported in September (OGJ Online, Sept. 9, 2015).

Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board said in July that it provided “conditional approval” of a development plan by Husky for the West White Rose extension (OGJ Online, July 28, 2015).

Production from White Rose and the satellites is tied back to the SeaRose floating production, storage, and offloading vessel.

Husky is operator of White Rose and satellite extensions, holding 72.5% interest in the main field and 68.875% interest in the satellite fields, which include North Amethyst, South White Rose, and West White Rose.