Area Drilling

Algeria

Anadarko Petroleum Corp., Houston, expects to invite bids for an engineering, procurement, and construction contract this quarter for its second major field development project in the Berkine area of the Ghadames basin.

Construction at Ourhroud, formerly Qoubba, field is to start next year, with production to start in mid-2002, eventually rising to 230,000 b/d.

Egypt

British Gas plc is starting a 1,500 sq km 3D seismic survey in the northern Red Sea. BG let a contract to Schlumberger Geco-Prakla, which just completed a 1,000 sq km 3D survey for Agip's IEOC unit on the adjoining block to the south.

Equatorial Guinea

Mobil Equatorial Guinea Inc. will become operator of the sprawling, 650,000 acre Block C south of Zafiro oil field under an agreement with Ocean Energy Inc., Houston, and SK Corp., Seoul. The government has approved the transaction.

Mobil would earn a 47% interest in the block by completing a work program that calls for drilling of an exploratory well this year on the Ostra prospect in eastern Block C based on existing seismic. The agreement also calls for more seismic on the deepwater part of the block with a second exploratory well contemplated in 2001.

Block C interests are Mobil 47%, Ocean Energy 37.6%, SK 9.4%, and the government 6%.

Northwest Territories

Northern Oil & Gas Directorate, Ottawa, called for bids by Sept. 9 on four parcels in the Mackenzie Delta.

The parcels cover about 180,000 acres each. Three lie close to major unproduced gas fields at Taglu and Niglintgak and ten smaller onshore gas and oil discoveries. The fourth lies between Inuvik and Aklavik.

Quebec

Encal Energy Ltd., Calgary, plans to participate with Shell Canada Ltd. in three wildcats starting in July 1999 on eastern Anticosti Island in the central Anticosti basin (OGJ, Sept. 28, 1998, p. 107).

Each well will test distinctly different prospects identified from 400 line km of seismic acquired in 1998.

Meanwhile, on western Newfoundland's Port au Port Peninsula, Encal holds 37.5% of PanCanadian Petroleum Ltd. Shoal Point K-39, spudded Feb. 8 in the eastern Anticosti basin. Well results there are expected during June (OGJ, Feb. 15, 1999, p. 69).

Arkansas

Hanna Oil & Gas Co., Fort Smith, staked a wildcat in Yell County of the Arkoma basin. The 1 Couch, in 6-5n-24w, northeast of Waveland gas field, is projected to 7,200 ft or Pennsylvanian Borum, IHS Energy Group reported.

Louisiana

A play appears to be developing for shallow gas on the southeast side of giant Caddo-Pine Island oil field.

Five late 1998 wells operated by Dzurik Interests Inc., Shreveport, indicated an average open flow of 100 Mcfd of gas from Cretaceous Nacatoch at TD 800 ft.

Reserves are an estimated 1.5 bcf/sq mile, said Cheyenne Resources Inc., Cheyenne, Wyo., which acquired 24.5% working interest in the project near Dixie, La. Leasehold consisted of 1,868 acres in late April. Gas purchaser is Shamrock Energy Corp., Shreveport.

Another operator, Grace Resources, Shreveport, staked several shallow Nacatoch locations in 7-19n-14w and 1 and 12-19n-15w, Caddo Parish.

Mississippi

Fina Oil & Chemical Co., Houston, set production casing at an Ordovician Knox wildcat in Maben field, Oktibbeha County.

The 1 Georgia Pacific, in 5-18n-12e, was being cased to 16,095 ft, 5 ft short of TD, reports Southeastern Oil Review, Jackson (see map, OGJ, Dec. 21, 1998, p. 108).

More production appears likely from Lower Cretaceous James lime.

Benz Energy Ltd., Houston, said a well in Oakvale field, Jefferson Davis County, logged pay in two zones between 14,970 ft and 15,070 ft in the James, which was not the well's primary objective.

Benz, which operates as Texstar Petroleum Inc., said the zones in its 1 Fortenberry 32-13, in 6-5n-19w, are comparable to pay zones found in the 1 Kathryn Saltry Byrd 31-1 discovery well in 1997. That well, on line 20 months with little change in rate, is producing 10.2 MMcfd of gas from the deeper Harper zone of Cretaceous Hosston.

The 1 Howell development well tested 21 MMcfd from Hosston H1, H2, and Booth sands in March 1999. It logged 247 net ft of indicated gas pay in four Hosston zones at 15,200-900 ft. It is on line at 6 MMcfd, to be increased soon upon completion of a pipeline and processing plant.

The 1 Fortenberry is to be cased to 15,700 ft, then sidetracked to 16,200 ft to evaluate Harper and Booth, which yielded shows on logs before the well encountered mechanical problems.

The company has called Oakvale "one of the more impressive new gas fields in recent years in the onshore U.S. Gulf Coast region." A 3D seismic survey indicated three or more wells will be needed to fully develop the numerous productive formations.

Range Resources Corp., Fort Worth, said three wells in Oakvale field are producing 7.6 MMcfd of gas and 55 b/d of oil from Cretaceous Hosston at about 16,000 ft. They are the 1 Weyerhauser 31-11, drilled in 1998, 1 Whiteholland 36-10, drilled earlier this year, and the previously shut-in 1 Unit 30-11, which was recompleted.

Denbury Resources Inc., Dallas, expressed encouragement by the production response from its East Heidelberg waterflood unit, where production climbed to 1,375 b/d during April from about 250 b/d 6 months ago.

New York

The state offered to help fund gas and oil field projects that stimulate new exploration investment in the state by demonstrating advanced technology or geological analysis.

Proposals are due by July 29 at the New York State Energy Research & Development Authority, Albany. The state will fund as much as $50,000/project that facilitates prospect identification in a frontier area and $75,000/project that shows a clear path to drilling in a more mature area.

Ideal projects will target less explored areas, less targeted formations, passed exploration opportunities in producing areas, or multizone programs, Nyserda said.

Pennsylvania

Range Resources Corp., Fort Worth, has identified two offset locations near a Devonian Oriskany field in Fayette County.

The 51B State Game Lands, 2 miles north of Spruell field, had a CAOF of 3 MMcfd of gas. Pipeline tie-in is complete. Range, operator with 50% working interest, is reviewing more locations on 10,000 acres adjacent.

Texas

West St. Clair Energy Corp., Midland, staked a rank wildcat in Culberson County. The 1-33 Kunitz 5, 45 miles north of Van Horn, is projected to 9,500 ft. The location is on the Sierra Diablo platform west of the Delaware basin, IHS Energy Group reported.Panhandle Range Resources Corp., Fort Worth, completed a well in Tanner field of Ochiltree County.

The 2 Schneider Unit went on line at 6.5 MMcfd of gas and 35 b/d of oil from Lower Morrow. This well, and Range's offsetting 1 Schneider, have more reserves behind pipe in a shallower zone of Lower Morrow. Range, field operator, holds 100% working interest.

Offshore A group of companies led by Petroleum Geo-Services ASA, Houston, began a multiclient study to integrate 2D regional seismic data with 160 key wells that penetrate Miocene data.

Goal is to build an advanced stratigraphic framework and predict the presence and distribution of sands downdip in the Miocene slope and basin floor environments.

Wyoming

Union Pacific Resources Group Inc. reported completion of the deepest horizontal tight gas well.

The 4H Rock Island Unit, in Sweetwater County just north of Table Rock field, flowed more than 12 MMcfd of gas with 3,150 psi FTP from a lateral more than 1,600 ft long in Cretaceous Frontier at nearly 15,000 ft true vertical depth. The Green River basin well was part of a U.S. Department of Energy project. Further development is planned.