EXPLORATION & DEVELOPMENT BRIEFS

Apache Northwest Pty. Ltd. is shooting 46.1 sq km of 3D seismic on the WA-399-P block in the Exmouth basin on Australia's Northwest Shelf, said partner Jacka Resources Ltd. The Gazelle 3D survey is to cover 89% of the permit. Apache designed it to extend beyond the permit and into WA-42-L to take advantage of local, key well control. Apache will fully fund the 9-12-day project.

WA-399-P lies on the Novara arch, a proven oil and gas trend. An estimated 680 million bbl of oil reserves and 1.2 tcf of gas reserves have been discovered downdip of WA-399-P in Pyrenees, Stybarrow, Vincent, and Van Gogh oil fields and Macedon gas field.

Updip of WA-399-P, the Leatherback and Ridley oil accumulations demonstrate that the Novara arch hydrocarbon migration fairway likely extends through the permit.

The primary target of the Gazelle 3D is the Gazelle lead, a Muderong formation subcrop play with a combination structural-stratigraphic trapping style similar to that already proven successful in adjacent fields and elsewhere in the North Carnarvon basin. The Gazelle 3D seismic data will be used to mature the lead and investigate some potential Direct Hydrocarbon Indicators identified on recently reprocessed 2D seismic lines.

Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) has cased the Balay-2 ST1 well on the Balay block in Colombia's Llanos basin 160 km east of Bogota.

The well went to a total depth of 15,084 ft true vertical depth, said 15% interest owner Petroamerica Oil Corp., Calgary. Petrobras is operator with 45%. Cepsa Colombia SA has 30%, and Sorgenia has 10%.

The original objectives of the Balay-2 well were to appraise the 2010 Balay-1 Mirador formation discovery and to assess the hydrocarbon potential of the deeper Barco, Guadalupe, Gacheta, and Une formations that could not be properly evaluated in the Balay-1 well for operational reasons.

Logs at Balay-2 ST1 indicate a probable 50 ft of net oil pay in Upper Mirador, compared with 20 ft in Balay-1. Oil shows were observed while drilling the deeper reservoirs.

Balay-1, on long-term test since July 14, 2010, and has recovered more than 200,000 bbl of 28° gravity oil from Upper Mirador under natural flow with 0.2% BS&W. Present rate is 1,378 b/d on a 48/64-in. choke.

Congo (Brazzaville) formally approved new fiscal terms for the production-sharing contract on the Mer Profonde Sud license and Azurite field.

The amendment gives the contractor group a larger net entitlement share of Azurite field revenues retroactively to Oct. 1, 2010, said PA Resources AB, Stockholm. The amendment received parliament's approval and was sanctioned by a presidential decree.

Murphy West Africa Ltd. is operator with 50% interest, PA Resources has 35%, and Soc. Nat. Petroles du Congo has 15%.

Tullow Oil PLC has spudded an exploratory well on the Guyane Maritime permit off French Guiana, one day after authorities gave the green light.

The Ensco 8503 semisubmersible is drilling the well in 1,000 m of water on a prospect Tullow views as geologically similar to its giant Jubilee oil discovery off Ghana. Drilling time is estimated at 90 days.

Tullow, which shot 3,625 sq km of 3D seismic between September 2009 and the end of February 2010, estimated that the permit 150 km off Cayenne could hold 40 million to 1 billion bbl of oil.

Total Gabon is pressing exploration and development on land and offshore concessions in Gabon as its equity production fell again in calendar 2010.

Capital spending was $296 million, up 3% on 2009, while the equity share of production fell 7% to an average of 52,800 b/d. Total Gabon cited natural decline mainly in Baudroie Nord Marine, Anguille, and Grondin fields.

Total Gabon holds 11,365 sq km of operated exploration licenses and 4,280 sq km of nonoperated exploration acreage. It expects final results by yearend of 3D seismic shot in the first half of 2010 on the large Diaba deepwater block off southern Gabon.

The company drilled two injection wells in the Anguille field redevelopment project in late 2010 and will drill the last two Phase 2 production wells this year. Phase 3 wells will be drilled in 2012 from the AGMN well platform under construction in France.

Vaalco Energy Inc. and Total Gabon are reprocessing 500 km of 2D seismic on the 270,327-acre Mutamba Iroru license along the coast just north of Port-Gentil. Vaalco is to drill one exploration well, and afterward Total Gabon could become operator because it operates Atora oil field just north of the license.

The Coucal and Avocette Dianongo field licenses were renewed and became production sharing contracts as of Jan. 1.

Quetzal Energy Ltd., Calgary, which is contemplating a spinout of Guatemala assets to its shareholders, will tender this month for a 3D seismic program to better define the producing structure at Atzam oil field in Guatemala.

Shooting is to start in June. Quetzal plans to drill two wells this year using company tools.

Meanwhile, early tests at the Las Casas-3X well of eight intervals perforated at 7,984 ft to 8,336 ft overall have produced inconclusive results of oil and water.

The company is drilling out bridge plugs at 8,645 ft and 8,670 ft to test open perforations in the Coban C8 and C9 reservoirs. In 2005 the C9 interval at 8,686-8,717 ft tested 250 b/d of fluid, 60% oil cut, and the upper C8 interval at 8,452-8,636 ft tested 210 b/d of fluid, 60% oil cut.

Quetzal plans to test the open intervals using an electric submersible pump. Initial results are expected in late April to early May.

Oil & Natural Gas Corp. tested gas at a high rate during tests of well AD 30 on the northwest flank of the Agartala Dome in Tripura state in northeastern India.

The Assam-Arakan basin well, drilled to 3,515 m, flowed gas from one sand zone at the rate of 113,400 cu m/day on an 8-mm choke.

In a statement, the government-controlled company said, "The success of this well has opened up the intervening low area between Agartala and Konaban structures and also gives impetus to exploration of more such areas on the flanks of major structures on Tripura fold belt."

MedcoEnergi plans to install a downhole pump and zone isolation packer to dewater two coal seams at the CBM-SE-02 well at the Sekayu coalbed methane exploration project in South Sumatra, Indonesia.

CBM Asia Development Corp., Vancouver, said its partner Medco will dewater the Palembang B and C and Pangadang A coal seams to provide data on deep-radius reservoir permeability and water composition.

Medco also has contracted Weatherford International to conduct gas saturation testing. Later in March, Medco plans to begin coring the coal section for gas content and permeability testing in the three other CBM test wells in the deeper portion of the Sekayu project, CBM Asia said.

The CBM-SE-02 well has provided data on coal seam thickness and permeability, while the upcoming coring of the CBM-SE-01, CBM-SE-03, and CBM-SE-04 wells will help further define CBM resources on the block, providing critical input in support of CBM Asia's planned NI 51-101 resource estimate.

GeoGlobal Resources Inc., Calgary, signed a drilling services agreement with Exceed Deep Water Drilling Specialists, Aberdeen, UK, concerning the Myra and Sara licenses, of which GeoGlobal is the operator.

Exceed will proceed with engineering, commercial, and critical logistical arrangements and undertake any preparatory work involved with the drilling campaign on the two licenses in the Mediterranean off Israel.

GeoGlobal has acquired and processed 400 sq km of 3D seismic on each license.

The Ministry for Economic Development awarded the 5-year Colle Ginestre license in the southern Apennines fairway on Italy's Adriatic coast to Cia. Generali Idrocarburi and a unit of Sound Oil PLC.

CGI is operator with 50% interest, and Sound Oil's Apennine Energy SRL has the other 50%. No immediate capital expenditure is planned.

The license is in Campobasso (Molise) and Chieti (Abruzzo) in the Southern Apennines fairway for shallower gas and deeper oil and is adjacent to Cupello-San Salvo field, which has produced more than 330 bscf from Pliocene.

The permit has several wells, including Eni SPA's 1988 Colle Turchese-1dir, which had gas shows on the flank of a structure characterized by an encouraging flat spot on seismic data that could indicate a gas accumulation.

Melrose Resources PLC signed the concession agreements for the EX-27 (Muridava) and EX-28 (Est Cobalcescu) exploration blocks in the Black Sea.

The licenses total 2,000 sq km. Melrose has 80% interest and Petromar Resources SA, 20%.

The blocks have multiple exploration plays and are on trend with existing Pliocene and Miocene gas discoveries. They are covered by old regional 2D seismic data, and Muridava also has a 2001 gas and oil discovery, Olimpiskiyi, on which available data are limited. Olimpiskiyi will be appraised.

The licenses are for 3 years with an optional 3-year extension. The firm work program for each block is for 2D and 3D seismic acquisition in Year 1, one well in Year 2, and two wells in Year 3. Melrose may consider reducing its working interest in the blocks and expects to spend approximately $60 million net on exploration activities during the initial term.

The Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency will study the feasibility of Canada's Yukon to develop and benefit from the territory's energy resources.

The 2-year, $300,000 study will assess the viability of future oil and gas development in the Eagle Plain region of northern Yukon.

Funding is being provided to Vuntut Gwitchin LP, the lead on the project on behalf of the North Yukon Economic Partnership. NYEP includes the four First Nations of Vuntut Gwitchin, Tr'ondek Hwech'in, Nacho Nyak Dun, and Gwitch'in Tribal Council.

Officials said the four northern First Nations seek affordable, greener, locally produced energy for developments such as mining and want to foster natural gas development.

Brooks Range Petroleum Corp. has spud the North Tarn-1 exploratory well on Alaska's North Slope.

The onshore wellsite is on State Lease ADL390680, 2 miles west of the Kuparuk River Unit and east of the Miluveach River. Projected total depth is 6,440 ft with Brookian sands expected at 5,000 ft. Drilling time is estimated at 20 days.

Joint venture participants may also drill a sidetrack delineating one or both of the targeted Brookian and Kuparuk C sands at an approximate depth is 6,200 ft depending on the results of the initial wellbore.

Participants include Brooks Range, Alaska Venture Capital Group LLC, Eni Petroleum US LLC, Ramshorn Investments Inc., and TVI Pacific Inc., parent of TG World Energy Corp.

Solimar Energy LLC, Melbourne, targets four sandstone reservoirs at 7,000-10,200 ft at the AEDT 76-33 well drilling below 5,475 ft adjacent to Guijarral Hills field in southwestern Fresno County, Calif.

The San Joaquin basin exploratory well is mapped based on well control as a potential undrained extension of the field, which has produced more than 50 million bbl of light oil since discovery in 1948.

The 2,560-acre project area could accommodate as many as 12 development locations. Blast Energy Services is funding two thirds of the well cost under farmout and is contributing toward Solimar's past costs. Solimar is operator with 35% interest.

Newfield Exploration Co. and Harvest Natural Resources Inc. are drilling the last well in the current phase of the Monument Butte field extension project in Utah's Uinta basin.

Thirteen Newfield-operated wells have produced 350,000 bbl of oil and 1.3 bcf of gas since the program began in December 2009, said Harvest. The 13 wells are making a combined 500 b/d of oil and 8 MMcfd of gas.

Fourteen wells, including one operated by Harvest, are on production. The program's most recent well, Meagher 10-20-4-2, has made 8,000 bbl of oil and 8 MMcf of gas since going on production in late December 2010.

The Newfield-operated Stewart 1A-29-4-2 well is drilling. Harvest has 40% average working interest in the 13 Newfield-operated wells.

The Harvest-operated K Moon 2-13-4-3 well was spud in November 2009 and began production on Feb. 16. The well has exceeded initial production expectations by making more than 1,500 gross bbl of oil flowing in the first 12 days. A pumping unit will be installed in the next few weeks.

The Moon well, in which Harvest's interest is 60%, is a large step toward confirming the prospectivity of the Harvest-operated acreage in the field extension project.

Harvest has identified and prioritized 50 operated locations that will represent the next phase of extension drilling when it is initiated.

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