Doris Leblond
OGJ Correspondent
PARIS, May 6 -- High oil prices in France last year continued to pull along both exploration and development investments, which jumped to €160.69 million from €87.81 million. But exploration investments are expected to decrease slightly this year to €157.8 million.
Exploration outlays in 2007 increased fourfold over 2006 to €81 million due to several wildcats drilled onshore, with six wells completed and one offshore hole drilled in the Bay of Biscay that proved dry. Budgets for this year bank on only €69.65 million in outlays because no offshore wells are planned.
Development and production outlays in 2007 jumped to €79.7 million from €69.6 million in 2006, with a high work volume compared with 2006. This year, investments are expected to be higher, reaching €88.15 million.
Exploration
Exploration acreage available in France increased to 19,509 sq km from 12,920 sq km, a 50% hike due to 13 exclusive permits granted and one extension, while only one permit expired. Eleven permits are in proved oil areas—nine in the Paris basin and two in the Aquitaine basin. There also is one in the Jura area and another in southeastern France near Nimes.
UK-based Celtic Energy, new to France's exploration and production scene, was granted three permits; one targeting unconventional gas in the Jura area of mideastern France and two in the Aquitaine basin.
Other newcomers are UK-based Europa Oil & Gas, which obtained a permit east of Lacq in the Aquitaine basin; Canada's Exceed, also holding a permit east of Lacq; and French company Millenium Geoventure Oil & Gas, which was granted a permit in northern France, near Boulogne.
For the second year running, no seismic surveys were run.
Of three wells drilled in the Paris basin, only the Pierre-Louis-Maubeuge well drilled by Galli Coz on the Attila permit in the eastern part of the basin encountered gas in the triassic and will be tested this year. Thetys Oil is a partner in that venture.
In Continental France, the offshore acreage granted increased slightly to 14,134 sq km from 13,711 sq km with Vermilion's Aquila permit in the Bay of Biscay, which more than offset acreage returned on the Aquitaine Maritime permit.
In other French-held areas, acreage remains unchanged at 60,825 sq km. In the Mozambique Channel, the Juan Nova Maritime permit in the Iles Eparses archipelago, on which seismics had been run in 2005-06, expired. On the same acreage two exclusive research permits, partly in competition, have been requested by Australia's Roc Oil and Houston-based Marex.
Production, development
In 2007 much development was tied to workovers on mature fields such as Lundin's Villeperdue and Neocomian fields (operated by Toreador Energy France) in the southern Paris basin. New interpretations also gave new life to old fields in order to reduce depletion as much as possible.
Last year 21 holes were drilled, 19 in the Paris basin and two in the Aquitaine basin, of which 10 were sidetrack workovers of existing wells. Another 19 were producing wells, and 2 involved production tests. Of the new wells drilled, 15 were horizontal.
France's oil production fell last year to 0.97 million tonnes from 1.06 million tonnes in 2006, a decline due to an accident at Bec d'Ambes, where the bottom of a 13,500 cu m oil depot collapsed, interrupting for a few days the production of western Aquitaine wells operated by Vermilion before a temporary solution was established.
France's oil production is 87% operated by Total E&P France, Vermilion, and Lundin and comes 60% from the Paris basin and 40% from the Aquitaine basin. Natural gas production is operated 95.5% by Total E&P France and comes 96.9% from the Aquitaine basin.
Eight fields produce more than 23,000 tonnes/year of oil—29% of national production—and 51 fields produce less than 23,000 tpy, 32% of overall production. Geopetrol, SMP, Petrorep, Oelweg, and Toreador produce volumes ranging from 0.06% to 6%.
The main producing fields are Parentis (113,277 tpy in the Aquitaine basin), and Itteville (110,066 tpy), Chaunoy (75,508 tpy), and Villeperdue (68,216 tpy) in the Paris basin. Overall, 59 fields produced oil in 2007 out of 63 active fields.
