The company operates the Bastiglia and Cento blocks, covering 275,000 gross acres, with 70% working interest.
Vintage targets shallow Pliocene gas sands in structural-stratigraphic traps. It is using seismic attribute analysis from reprocessed 2D seismic data combined with newly acquired geochemical surveys.
South Africa
PetroSA and Pioneer Natural Resources Co., Dallas, began oil production on Aug. 7 from Sable field offshore in the Bredasdorp basin.
Oil is produced into the Bluewater Group's Glas Dowr FPSO from the field, 150 km southwest of Mossel Bay. The vessel's service term at Sable is between 3 and 10 years.
Tanzania
Drilling was to start in mid-August at a planned 3,010 m exploratory well on the 2,600 sq km Nyuni license on Nyuni Island just off the coast near Songo Songo gas field.
Main objective at Nyuni-1 is in Lower Cretaceous sandstones below 2,350 m subsea. The rig was shipped to Tanzania from Romania. Operator is Ndovu Resources Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of Aminex PLC, London.
On completion, the rig will be moved to Okuza Island to spud Okuza-1 on a separate structure.
Trinidad and Tobago
Aventura Energy Inc., Calgary, gauged the Baraka-1 discovery on the onshore Central Block in Trinidad.
It flowed at rates of 22 MMcfd of gas and 660 b/d of 58° gravity condensate in 48 hr from more than 300 ft of perforations in a 600 ft thick plus hydrocarbon column. The discovery, Trinidad's second largest onshore in the past 40 years after Carapal Ridge, is on a separate structure 3 km northeast of Carapal Ridge-1.
Baraka-1 appears capable of delivering more than 35 MMcfd and 1,000 b/d, Aventura said. TD is 9,375 ft.
The company expressed excitement about Central Block potential and said the 2004 budget is likely to provide for the drilling of two to three exploratory tests.
Aventura will shut-in Carapal Ridge-1 in the fourth quarter when it ties in Baraka-1 production. Carapal Ridge-1 averaged market-restricted rates of 17.6 MMcfd and 469 b/d in the second quarter, though it can deliver 100 MMcfd. The company is negotiating to renew its 20 MMcfd gas sales contract to Petroleum Co. of Trinidad and Tobago Ltd. (Petrotrin) and a 60 MMcfd long-term contract that would start in late 2005.
Carapal Ridge gas production is sold to Petrotrin, Aventura's partner in the Central Block, for use as fuel gas at Petrotrin's Point-a-Pierre refinery.
Tunisia
Anadarko Petroleum Corp., Houston, and Pioneer Natural Resources Co., Dallas, are evaluating commerciality of two discoveries drilled in the second quarter of 2003 on the Anaguid block in the Ghadames basin in southern Tunisia.
CEM-1 cut 95 ft of net gas and condensate pay in Upper Ordovician sands. The unstimulated well drillstem tested 3.6 MMcfd and 540 b/d.
SEA-1 encountered 52 ft of net pay in the same section.
Separately, Pioneer is participating in Adam-2, first development well on the 860 sq km Adam concession on the Borj El Khadra block south of Anaguid.
The Adam-1 discovery well has been producing through nearby facilities at Oued Zar field at a gross stabilized rate of more than 3,500 b/d since late May 2003.
On completion of Adam-2, Pioneer plans to drill the Hawa exploration well on the southern Adam concession, in which it has 28% working interest.
UK
Europa Oil & Gas Ltd., London, will conduct a feasibility study on the development of two gas-condensate discoveries on Blocks 41/24 and 41/25 in the Southern Gas basin.
The discoveries, in 50 m of water 15 km off Yorkshire, are on an exploration license Europa obtained with an initial two-year term. Each tested 35 MMcfd of gas from two intervals in Permian carbonates. The two contain an estimated recoverable volume of 50 bcf plus a small overlying Bunter gas accumulation.
Europa, which operates mostly in eastern Europe and the UK, produces 300 boed in the Ukraine and UK.
Indiana
Quicksilver Resources Inc., Fort Worth, drilled 59 net wells in its Indiana-Kentucky New Albany shale production area.
The company's 12-mile, 100 MMcfd Cardinal Pipeline connecting Indiana and Kentucky into the interstate pipeline market is to be completed in September 2003 and the 59 wells completed and tied in.
The company is on track to complete its goal of drilling and completing 85 wells in this area by yearend 2003 (OGJ, Nov. 25, 2002, p. 32).
Louisiana
The Mound Point Offset exploratory well on State Lease 340 has been production tested at a rate of 22.3 MMcfd of gas, 413 b/d of condensate, and 470 b/d of water, said participant McMoRan Exploration Co., New Orleans.
The well was drilled to 19,000 ft (OGJ Online, Apr. 22, 2003). Initial production is expected in third quarter 2003. Water, which diminished during the test, is believed to be lost completion fluid.
No water was observed on the log in the sand in which the well is completed.
Plans for the next Mound Point well are being developed.
The well is 6 miles northeast of the JB Mountain discovery. JB Mountain went on line in June, but sustained rates have yet to be achieved because operator El Paso Production Co. is still addressing issues associated with delivering gas to the pipelines. El Paso Production also operates the Mound Point Offset well.
Texas
East
Comstock Resources Inc., Frisco, Tex., said one of two wells drilled to appraise a Polk County discovery should be "another high volume producer."
The Hamman-1 discovery well has averaged 19.1 MMcfed from Cretaceous Woodbine since going on production in October 2002. Collins-1 went on line recently at 15.5 MMcfed.
Collins-2 went to 15,525 ft and found 52 net ft of high-porosity pay in Woodbine sands and is being completed. Hamman-2, drilled to 15,400 ft, cut only 6 net ft of Woodbine pay and is expected to be a marginal well.