By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, May 24 -- Canadian Superior Energy Inc., Calgary, Alta., and El Paso Oil & Gas Canada Inc., an indirect subsidiary of El Paso Corp., Houston, contracted for the Rowan Gorilla V, owned and operated by Rowan Cos. Inc., Houston, to drill the first well on the Marquis natural gas prospect off Nova Scotia, officials said Thursday.
"The Rowan Group brings a wealth of East Coast service and supply experience to our Marquis project, and subject to regulatory approval, we are looking forward to begin drilling...over the next 6-8 weeks," said Greg Noval, Canadian Superior's president.
Canadian Superior is one of the largest acreage holders off Nova Scotia, with 100% interest in 934,065 acres. It recently formed a joint venture with El Paso to explore its holdings in the shallow waters of the Scotian shelf. Terms of the joint venture were not disclosed (OGJ Online, May 1, 2002).
The first Marquis well is to be drilled to at least 4,300 m (14,100 ft) TVD, or whatever it takes to test sufficiently the main deep Abenaki reef section, officials said.
The prospect is located 20 km (12.5 miles) northwest of Sable Island and is directly on trend with and analogous to the recent Deep Panuke Abenaki reef natural gas discovery 25 km (15.6 miles) to the southwest.
Several delineation wells in the Deep Panuke find have been successfully tested, each with productive capacity in excess of 50 MMcfd when brought on line, officials said.
Completed in November 1998, the Rowan Gorilla V is one of the world's largest jack ups and the first of the Super Gorilla class capable of drilling and producing simultaneously in water depths as much as 400 ft in harsh environments such as Offshore Eastern Canada.
It features a derrick with a total combined drilling capacity of 3.5 million lb, 16,975 hp prime mover capacity, 8,800 hp mud pump capacity, and a total drilling load capacity of 16.25 million lb.
Canadian Superior acquired its Marquis exploration licenses in October 2000 for work expenditure bids of $27.7 million (Can.). The prospect consists of two exploration licenses covering about 110,000 acres 160 km off Nova Scotia.