Algeria
Gulf Keystone Petroleum Co. of the United Arab Emirates has signed an agreement to explore Block 126 in the Ferkane region in northeastern Algeria, OPEC News Agency reported. A two-phase work program involves $15 million for acquisition of 600 sq km of 3D seismic and the drilling of three wells in 5 years followed by $9 million for another 600 km of seismic and another well.
Anadarko Petroleum Corp. won Block 406 in the Berkine basin, and Rosneft and Stroytransgas, both of Russia, won block 348 in the Timimoun basin.
Denmark
A group led by UAB Minijos Nafta was awarded 900,000-acre license 1/01 in southern Jutland.
Other members of the group are Sterling Resources Ltd., Calgary, Danish national company DONG, and Dansk Venture Olieefterforskning Aps.
Initial work in the 6-year license period is to involve evaluation of existing data, seismic reprocessing, a pilot geochemical survey, and prospect-lead definition, Sterling said.
The license is in the Zechstein basin, which produces in the UK, Germany, and Poland. Geologically it is quite similar to Sterling's acreage in the UK Cleveland basin, but it has not had the benefit of modern exploration techniques.
Ireland
Transocean Sedco Forex Inc.'s drilling rig Sovereign Explorer will spud the first exploration well on the Sarsfield prospect on the Irish continental shelf for Statoil AS late this spring, said the Irish unit of the Norwegian state oil and gas company.
Sarsfield is on exploration block 35/21 in the Porcupine basin west of Ireland in 650 m of water. An earlier well drilled for Statoil in the area, in Connemara field, suggested the prospect would not be "profitable" to develop.
TSF's semisubmersible is to arrive at the field in May to begin what currently is viewed as a one-well program. A 3D seismic program was shot over the block in the summer of 1998.
Malaysia
The Sabah unit of Murphy Oil Corp., El Dorado, Ark., took a farmout of Esso Exploration & Production Sabah Ltd.'s 80% holding in Block H off Sabah.
Murphy Sabah will operate the deepwater block, with the other 20% interest held by Petronas Carigali Sdn. Bhd.
Block H is contiguous with and shoreward of roughly the eastern half of Murphy-Petronas Block K. Murphy will soon start a phased 3D seismic program to supplement existing 2D seismic data on the block. Drilling will begin later this year.
On Block G shoreward of the western half of Block K, the Saba Shell Petroleum Co. Ltd. and Petronas Kamunsu East-1 discovery cut thick gas pay with oil indications in stacked sandstones below 7,750 ft. Findings indicate a commercial deposit, said Saba Shell of the 1999 discovery in 2,417 ft of water 16 km north of Kebabangan gas field (OGJ, May 31, 1999, p. 72)
At 4.1 million acres, undrilled Block K is the largest block Malaysia has awarded.