Colombia
Mera Petroleums Inc. and Millennium Energy Inc., Calgary, began reviewing seismic data on the 332,800-acre Salinas block in the Guajira basin granted under new fiscal terms.
The block, lying between the Maracaibo basin and Texaco-operated gas fields off Riohacha, Colombia, contains four prospects at 2,000-3,000 m, largest of which covers 17 sq km.
A 2-year, $2.1 million work program calls for reprocessing 300 km of an existing 8,500 km seismic data base and acquiring 50 km of new data.
Quadra Resources Corp., Calgary, signed up to explore the 256,030-acre Iraca Association Contract in the Cesar basin.
It is reprocessing 200 km of 2D seismic data and hopes to drill a well late this year. Iraca, traversed by a gas pipeline, lies east of the 224,000-acre Maracas Association Contract.
As much as 18,648 acres or 10% of the Compae structure, which has tested or indicated the presence of oil or gas in four zones to 5,200 ft on Maracas, extends onto Iraca, Quadra said. Iraca contains six other distinct geophysical structures. Texican Oil PLC operates Maracas.
Ecuador
Tecpetrol SA of Argentina let a contract to Grant Geophysical Inc. for a 210-sq-km 3D seismic survey in the Bermejo area of the Oriente basin.
Egypt
A three-well program to develop Hana oil field on the West Gharib block west of the Gulf of Suez will include one well to evaluate Nubian zones at 9,000 ft.
A group led by Tanganyika Oil Co. Ltd. said the three wells will develop Miocene Kareem sand at 5,000 ft.
Hana-2 is producing 1,650 b/d of 26° gravity oil for trucking to Bakr South terminal. Hana-1 is awaiting a higher-capacity pump. Field storage and an 8-in., 20,000 b/d capacity pipeline are to start up by late spring.
Nigeria
Tuskar Resources plc, Dublin, and Cavendish Petroleum Nigeria Ltd. let a contract for a 550-sq-km 3D seismic survey on the deepwater part of OML 110.
The survey is to further define six prospects identified by 2D data and the drilling of two wells that had oil shows.
The companies are developing Obe oil field in shallow water on OML 110.
Switzerland
Forest Oil Corp., Denver, plans to explore for gas in northern Switzerland.
It will drill Weiach-2 to 2,000 m in third quarter 2000.
The site, near the border with Germany, is 350 m from a well that encountered significant gas shows in tight sandstones and coals (see map, OGJ, June 23, 1997, p. 78).
If successful, Forest will begin delineation drilling on 3.4 million acres in which it holds 100% interest.
UK
British Geological Survey and others are analyzing seabed core from 14 core holes drilled at 11 sites in as much as 1,566 m of water in the northeast Atlantic Ocean.
The sites are on Hatton Bank, west of Shetland, the Bean basin, west of Ireland, and Faeroese waters. The studies are to identify and age-date beds and unconformities selected from previous geophysical surveys.
Seacore Ltd., Gweek, Cornwall, gathered the core from the top-drive-equipped MS Bucentaur dynamically-positioned geotechnical drilling vessel. It recovered a total of 808 m of core. The deepest penetration into the seabed was 177 m.
Yemen
The ministry approved development of Tasour oil field on 151,000-acre Block 32, and production is to start in late 2000 at as much as 5,000-7,000 b/d.
A group led by operator DNO ASA is to build a 40-mile pipeline to tie in with Canadian Occidental's pipeline to the southern coast.
Two wells are capable of production, and the group began seismic acquisition in February to define further development and exploratory well locations.
Group members are DNO 20%, Ansan Wikfs (Hadramaut) Inc. 45.19%, Norsk Hydro 25%, and TransGlobe Energy Corp. 9.81%.
Louisiana
Mayne & Mertz Inc., Midland, Tex., is exploring in Calcasieu Parish south and west of giant Vinton oil field with some success.
The directional 1 Stream 25, in 26-11s-13w, flowed 692 b/d of oil and 2.8 MMcfd of gas on a 10/64 in. choke with 8,198 psi FTP from Cretaceous Hackberry perforations at 14,034-054 ft, reports Southeastern Oil Review, Jackson, Miss.
The well is more than 5 miles southwest of the Northwest Vinton field Hackberry gas and condensate discovery in 1997.
New Mexico
Mallon Resources Corp., Denver, said it drilled 26 wells and recompleted four others since mid-September at East Blanco in the San Juan basin.
Twenty of the wells are on line at a combined 8 MMcfd of gas with eight awaiting completion or connection. One new well and one recompletion were deemed noncommercial.
The wells are completed in one or more of the Ojo Alamo, San Jose, Nacimiento, and Pictured Cliffs formations. Mallon plans to drill or recomplete 45 more wells this year.
New York
The state's gas production rose 3% to 16.7 bcf in 1998, the first increase since 1989, the department of environmental conservation said.
Steuben County jumped to the second place gas-producing county, behind Chautauqua County, with 26 gas wells in deeper formations. This is doubtless due mostly to Columbia Natural Resources Inc.'s gas play in Ordovician Trenton in the Finger Lakes region (see map, OGJ, Nov. 8, 1999, p. 81).
Oil production fell 21% to 217,154 bbl in 1998.
Prices at the wellhead averaged $2.46/Mcf for gas, down 10 cents on the year, and $11.96/bbl, down $6.
Oklahoma
Forced pooling regulations are under consideration in the state, reports Mid-Continent Oil & Gas Association.
Lawmakers removed from committee agenda a bill that would have moved pooling jurisdiction to district courts and away from the corporation commission.
It was replaced by a bill that would require that 63% or more of the minerals be leased before the commission could grant forced pooling. Otherwise only wellbore pooling would be permitted. National Association of Royalty Owners sponsored the latter bill. Producing interests opposed it.
Texas
North
Mitchell Energy & Development Corp., The Woodlands, Tex., was running six rigs and conducting an aggressive rework program in late February in the play for gas in low-permeability Mississippian Barnett shale in the Fort Worth basin.
Mitchell said it has an undrilled backlog of almost 900 wells and is confident it can prove another 1,000 or more well sites on acreage already held (OGJ, Sept. 27, 1999, p. 89).