By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Apr. 29 -- International oil companies expect to spend about $100 million on exploration activities off Ireland this year, particularly in the Celtic Sea, making 2003 the busiest in 25 years for drilling in Ireland, according to industry officials.
London-based Ramco Oil & Gas Ltd. plans to drill five wells this year in its Seven Heads gas field in the Celtic Sea and expects first gas by yearend. Seven Heads, which contains proved and probable reserves of 300 bcf, is expected to provide 10-15% of Ireland's requirements during the next 15 years (OGJ Online, Mar. 17, 2003).
Ramco also recently received a licensing option giving it exclusive right until July 31, 2004, to run seismic over parts of Blocks 49/11 and 49/12, its Midleton acreage, and, if results are successful, to apply for a 6 year exploration license for the area.
Midleton is 60 km northeast of Seven Heads. Average water depth at both and Midleton is about 100 m. The geological target in the Midleton area is the Greensand ('A' sand), which has produced most of the gas from the Kinsale Head field 35 km to the south.
Ramco will use the same seismic reprocessing technology it applied to Seven Heads, reducing the seismic multiples the area's hard chalk seabed causes. This and other technical studies will be used to evaluate other leads already identified in Midleton.
Ramco also holds an interest in Galley Head north of Seven Heads.
Also in the Celtic Sea, Marathon International Petroleum Ireland Ltd. will develop its fifth subsea gas well tieback. Work is underway on tiebacks from its Greensand development well, where first gas is expected by July, to the Kinsale Bravo platform, 7 km away (OGJ Online, Dec. 9, 2002).
Other areas off Ireland
To the northwest, Statoil Exploration (Ireland) Ltd. will drill an exploration well as part of its license commitment on the Atlantic Margin, which extends from west of Ireland to northern Norway. Statoil drilled the first wildcat on the Sarsfield prospect west of Ireland in 2001 (OGJ Online, May 22, 2001) and considers it to be one of its "most important" international exploration provinces.
Enterprise Energy Ireland Ltd., a unit of Royal Dutch/Shell, is developing onshore and offshore facilities for developing Corrib gas field on Blocks 18/20 and 18/25 in the Slyne basin off Ireland. First gas is anticipated from the field the second half of this year, and a plateau of 8.9 million cu m/day of gas is expected next year (OGJ Online, Aug. 16, 2001).
Enterprise also will return to its Dooish deepwater prospect 125 km northwest of Donegal. Enterprise drilled the well last year in 1,478 m of water on License 2/94 on behalf of itself, AGIP Ireland BV, and OMV (Ireland) GmbH, but suspended operations when the weather deteriorated (OGJ Online, Feb. 12, 2003).