Argentina
Connacher Oil & Gas Ltd., Calgary, said its 61% subsidiary Petrolifera Petroleum Ltd. launched a bid to raise up to $7 million for Latin American operations.
Proceeds of the offering were to be used to fund part of Petrolifera's expected $6.2 million in 2005 capital spending in Argentina where it holds the Puesto Morales/Rinconada concession and in Peru where it is negotiating to acquire two licenses. Petrolifera is near completing a 144-sq-km 3D seismic survey on the Argentine concession in the Neuquen basin and plans to drill 5 exploratory and infill wells and work over several wells this year.
The Peru properties are 2 million acre Block 106 surrounding giant Corrientes oil and gas field in the Maranon basin and 3.2 million acre Block 107 in the Ucayali basin northwest of the Camisea gas-condensate fields.
Egypt
Burren Energy PLC, London, bid successfully for two exploration licenses on and off Egypt.
Block 1, North Lagia, covers 1,457 sq km onshore in the northern Gulf of Suez basin. The block surrounds the Asl, Ras Sudr, and Ras Matarma production licenses operated by state General Petroleum Co. Egyptian General Petroleum Corp. offered the block.
Burren also won Block 2, North Hurghada Marine, covering 242 sq km in the gulf along trend with the Zeit Bay and Geisum oil producing areas. The block, offered by Ganoub El-Wadi Holding Petroleum Co., is northwest of Seabird gas and oil field.
Burren has begun exploring the 4,300 sq km East Kanayis Block 7 awarded last year in the western desert and plans exploration drilling in mid-2005. The company's working interest is 100% in all three blocks.
Sri Lanka
TGS-Nopec Geophysical Co. and Fugro Geoteam began acquiring data in a 2D multiclient survey in the Gulf of Mannar between Sri Lanka and India.
The 4,750 line km survey will complement data TGS-Nopec collected in 2001 in the Mannar basin. The survey culminates 4 years of work by TGS-Nopec and the government, said Titus Jayarwardene, Sri Lanka director general of petroleum resources.
Venezuela
The Vinccler Oil & Gas CA unit of PetroFalcon Corp., Carpinteria, Calif., spudded the LV-9 well in La Vela field in mid-January.
Projected TD is 10,941 ft. The well has several prospective reservoirs, including the Agua Clara reservoir that Vinccler successfully recompleted in the LV-8X well in November 2004.
Vinccler plans to drill as many as 10 wells seeking gas in coastal La Vela and Cumarebo oil and gas fields and surrounding acreage on the 400,000-acre East Falcon Block east of Coro. It has Pride International Rig 528 under contract for 1 year. The gas would be delivered into Petroleos de Venezuela SA's Interconexion Centro-Occidente (ICO) pipeline.
Vinccler also launched an 86 line km seismic survey to pinpoint development locations and prospects on the block.
Vinccler last fall negotiated a contract to sell up to 249 bcf of gas from the two fields to Pdvsa/ICO for a net $1.33/Mcf for transport to the Paraguana Refining Complex.
Yemen
A group led by Total SA ran successful production tests at two wells as part of appraisal and development of the basement reservoir at Kharir field on East Shabwa Block 10.
The KHA-403 well, TD 3,383 m, produced more than 6,500 b/d of oil and was connected to the field's main production facilities. It was drilled to delineate the basement and evaluate reservoir development in the undrilled western extension of the structure.
KHA-402, TD 3,441 m, drilled to assess the potential of eastern Kharir field on the flank of the structure, tested at 550 b/d of oil in December 2004 and was shut-in for long-term test. Reopened Jan. 26, 2005, it stabilized at 710 b/d.
The group spudded a fourth basement well, KHA-404.
Block interests are Total Yemen SA, Occidental Yemen Ltd., and Comeco Petroleum Inc. 28.57% each and Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Co. 14.29%. SOCO Petroleum PLC, London, holds 58.75% interest in Comeco.
Newfoundland
Vulcan Minerals Inc., St. John's, plans to drill as many as four wells in 2005 in the nonproducing Bay St. George basin in western Newfoundland.
The company has several prospects on 236,000 acres and is the basin's largest land holder.
The Flat Bay 1 and 2 wells have discovered a large-scale active petroleum system in the basin, the company said. Flat Bay-1, drilled to TD 286 m in 1999 and not stimulated until mid-2004, had shows of 34° gravity oil with less than 1% sulfur at 195 m. Residual frac sand has caused pumping problems. Vulcan recently drilled Flat Bay-2 about 1.5 km east.
The focus until now has been on the Fischells Brook member of the Carboniferous Spout Falls formation, but 2005 drilling will test other potential reservoirs on the Storm and Hurricane prospects, Vulcan said.
Northwest Territories
International Frontier Resources Corp., Calgary, signed a memorandum of understanding to explore 1.9 million acres in the Central Mackenzie Valley held by the Katlodeeche First Nations near Hay River, NWT.
Upon signing formal agreements, the company would begin geological and geophysical exploration on the accessible lands in the Deh Cho region south of the Great Slave Lake.
International Frontier already holds interests in more than 1 million acres in the Mackenzie Valley northwest of the Katlodeeche lands.
Gulf of Mexico
TGS-Nopec Geophysical Co., Houston, doubled to 8,400 sq km the initial size of its Deep Resolve multiclient 3D survey aimed at Gulf of Mexico deep shelf exploration targets. The project, for which the contractor secured further client funding, covers parts of the Ship Shoal, South Timbalier, Grand Isle, and Ewing Bank areas off Louisiana.
Delivery of processed, prestack time migrated data starting in January 2005. Acquisition of the enlarged project is to be completed in July 2005.
North Dakota
North Finn LLC, private Wyoming company, and American Oil & Gas Inc., Denver, plan to spud a 4,500-ft wildcat to Mississippian Mission Canyon in McHenry County.
The well on the 10,000-acre South Glenburn oil prospect is to cost $350,000 to casing point. The location is 19 miles southeast of Glenburn field and 35 miles southeast of Wiley field, each of which has produced more than 17 million bbl of oil from Mission Canyon. The two companies have a strategic operating alliance. Working interests in the prospect are American 87.5% and North Finn 12.5%.
Texas
West
Anadarko Petroleum Corp., Houston, said it drilled 15 wells, including one exploration well, in 2004 in an expanding tight sands gas play in the Delaware basin.
Production in the Haley area is 85 MMcfd from 12 wells, Anadarko said. The former Amoco Production Co. discovered Haley field in 1983. The discovery well, in Loving County northeast of Mentone, flowed gas from the Pennsylvanian Morrow formation below 17,000 ft. Anadarko expanded its position to 110,000 net acres last November when it acquired 35 university land tracts totaling 10,000 net acres in Loving, Ward, and Winkler counties.
Anadarko brought 5 wells on line, operated 6 rigs, and reached TD at 5 wells in the fourth quarter.