CALGARY�Petro-Canada, Calgary, in February will spud the first natural gas exploration well drilled in the Arctic Mackenzie Delta region in more than a decade.
Petro-Canada has a 60% interest in the well, which will test tertiary sands in the Kurk Block at 9,186 ft. The well is due for completion in April.
Seismic is planned on four other blocks this winter.
On the East Coast, Petro-Canada drilled and completed three of six preproduction wells at the Terra Nova oilfield on the Grand Banks, with the remaining wells scheduled to be completed prior to startup. Onshore testing and commissioning of a Terra Nova offshore production vessel is underway, and the Terra Nova project is 90% complete.
The company participated in delineation wells at the White Rose and Heron/Ben Nevis fields on the Grand Banks and in two unsuccessful wildcats drilled at the Riverhead and Cape Race locations.
Petro-Canada and partner Husky Oil Operations Ltd. have filed a development application for the White Rose field, although no final decision has been made on development (OGJ Online, Jan. 15, 2001).
The company and partners are now processing seismic data from the North and South Flemish Pass and one block on the Scotia Shelf shot during 2000.
Petro-Canada also acquired additional acreage off Newfoundland at a December land sale.
The company reports record annual net earnings of $893 million (Can.) in 2000, compared with $233 million in 1999. The company�s best previous earnings year was $306 million in 1997.
Upstream earnings from operations in the fourth quarter were $244 million, compared to $98 million for the same period in 1999. Downstream earnings in the fourth quarter were $66 million, up from $9 million in the same period in 1999 due to higher refining margins and a wider light/heavy crude differential. The company said marketing and lubricants margins continued to be depressed.
Net earnings in 2000 included a gain on asset sales of $71 million, compared to a loss on sale of assets of $3 million in 1999.
