Iraq
ShaMaran Petroleum Corp., Vancouver, BC, has relinquished its 60% interest in the Pulkhana and Arbat blocks in Iraq's Kurdistan region for a consideration of $25 million payable to the Kurdistan Regional Government.
The relinquishment will allow ShaMaran to focus on Atrush and Taza, considered to be its most prospective blocks. Pulkhana and Arbat were not as prospective as anticipated, ShaMaran said.
General Exploration Partners Inc. and Marathon Petroleum KDV BV plan to complete a 3D seismic survey in the current quarter over an April 2011 discovery on Atrush. The plan to drill an appraisal well in the second quarter and later install an early production system. ShaMaran owns 33.5% of GEP, which has 80% interest in Atrush, and Marathon has 20%.
Meanwhile, the first well on Taza, formerly Block K42, is to be drilled in the 2012 second quarter. Oil Search Iraq Ltd. operates Taza with 60% interest, and ShaMaran and the KRG each hold 20%.
ShaMaran noted that more than 30 mid to large international oil companies are exploring Kurdistan, which lies within the northern extension of the Zagros fold belt.
Ivory Coast
Rialto Energy Ltd., Perth, has completed a 3D seismic survey on Block CI-202 offshore Ivory Coast and plans to start a three-well drilling program around the end of February.
The drilling will consist of one exploratory well and two development wells in Gazelle oil and gas field, where the development plan was recently approved. Gazelle, in shallow water, is to start up near the end of 2013 at 8,000 b/d of liquids and 100 MMcfd of gas. Rialto is operator with 85% interest in the block.
The 891 sq km 3D survey covers the entire 675 sq km block, including the underappraised Gazelle, Hippo-1, Bubale, and Addax oil and gas discoveries in 50-100 m of water, and numerous low-risk prospects and leads.
Rialto signed a memorandum of understanding with the government for sales of up to 100 MMcfd of Gazelle gas and expects a final agreement to be executed by the time of the Gazelle development final investment decision in mid-2012.
Identified exploratory targets have a combined total mean prospective resource of 511 million bbl of oil and condensate and 1,785 bcf of gas. Resource is 84 million bbl at the Chouette prospect, to be drilled in the current quarter.
Malaysia
The Bertram-2 appraisal well has proved the 1995 Bertram discovery off Peninsular Malaysia to be a potentially commercial oil field, said Lundin Petroleum AB, Stockholm.
Bertram-2, in the PM307 production sharing contract area, went to 1,884 m to test Oligocene lower coastal plain sandstones. It proved the continuity and quality of the K10 oil reservoir sandstone northeast of the Bertram-1 discovery well, which flowed 624 b/d of 34° gravity oil on a short-term production test.
Bertam-2 found deeper sands that formed a secondary exploration target to be water-bearing. The K10 reservoir sand was fully cored and logged. Preliminary interpretation indicates oil interval with very good reservoir properties, Lundin said. Bertram-2 stabilized at 756 b/d.
Lundin plans to plug the well , determine the range of oil resources, rapidly select a concept, and move forwards towards development or plan further appraisal if required.
Netherlands
Dana Petroleum PLC has started production from the Van Ghent well in Phase 1 of its Medway development project in the Netherlands North Sea.
The Van Ghent well, producing through the Dana-operated De Ruyter platform on Block P11b 60 km northwest of The Hague, is the first trilateral penetration in the Dutch offshore and for Dana.
It is expected to average 2,000 b/d of oil equivalent net to Dana's 50% interest in 2012. A further 2,000 boe/d is expected to come on stream from the Van Nes well in April 2012. EBN BV, Utrecht, holds the other 50% interest.
The Medway project Dana's number of producing fields to 47 internationally and marks a positive start to 2012 for the Dana-Korea National Oil Corp. partnership, Dana said.
Colorado
The US Bureau of Land Management is seeking public comments on Black Hills Plateau Production LLC's proposed gas project northeast of Grand Junction, Colo., in the Piceance basin.
BHPP, a division of the Colorado exploration and production subsidiary of utility holding company Black Hills Corp. in Rapid City, SD, has proposed drilling up to 24 wells from 12 well pads over 3 years beginning in October on leases it holds near the town of DeBeque, BLM's Grand Junction field office said on Jan. 12.
It said this proposal replaces one which was much larger that BHPP submitted in 2009 for this general area which it subsequently withdrew. The new proposal covers 33,000 acres in Mesa and Garfield counties where BHPP already operates about 75 wells, some dating back to 1978, BLM said.
Wyoming
The US Bureau of Land Management's Lander, Wyo., field office said that a finding of no significant impact and decision record have been signed for a proposed oil and gas exploratory well and associated facilities 10 miles north of Dubois, Wyo.
Hudson Group LLC proposed to drill the Scott-2 well, in 28-43n-107w, Fremont County, on an existing lease on surface land administered by the US Forest Service's Shoshone National Forest and mineral estate administered by BLM, the US Department of the Interior agency said on Jan. 24.
The USFS has approved Hudson's surface use operating plan, and the producer's mitigation measures have been incorporated into Hudson's application for a drilling permit, BLM noted. The well is in the Wind River basin.
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