New Zealand
Hyundai Hysco, Seoul, plans to participate in PEP 38451 in the deepwater Taranaki basin off New Zealand.
Deepwater Taranaki is undrilled, and PEP 38451 at 13.8 million acres covers nearly the entire basin and is New Zealand’s largest exploration permit. Four shallow-water Taranaki oil fields are under development.
GNS Science, Wellington, NZ, identified several prospects with multiple pay objectives from 6,200 line-km of existing seismic. Three giant prospects are in 225, 1,411, and 1,540 m of water.
Hyundai Hysco will earn 30% interest and Randall C. Thompson LLC will earn 10% by participating in 3,100 line-km of 2D seismic. Global Resource Holdings LLLP, Denver, retains 60% interest.
Reservoirs are judged to be in Cretaceous North Cape sandstone sourced by the underlying Cretaceous Rakopi formation, source of most of the oil discovered in Taranaki so far (OGJ, Nov. 25, 2002, p. 28).
Gulf of Mexico
Devon Energy Corp., Oklahoma City, exercised a preferential right to buy Anadarko Petroleum Corp.’s 6.67% working interest in the deepwater Kaskida Unit in the Gulf of Mexico’s Lower Tertiary Trend.
The deal brings Devon’s interest to 26.67% in the 51,800-acre unit. BP Exploration & Production Inc., Kaskida operator, has 73.33% interest.
The unit covers nine blocks in the Keathley Canyon area where the 2006 discovery well cut 800 net ft of hydrocarbon-bearing sands.
Devon, with ownership in nearly 200 blocks, has one of the trend’s most extensive lease positions and considers Kaskida to be the largest of its four Lower Tertiary discoveries. The company expects to begin Lower Tertiary production in 2010 from the Cascade discovery.
Louisiana
Yuma Exploration & Production Co., Houston, is drilling Caviar III, third in a five-well 3D exploratory program in Plaquemines Parish swamps 7 miles west of Black Bay oil and gas field.
Caviar I, the first well, tested 4.2 MMcfd with a trace of condensate with 2,881 psi pressure on a 13⁄64-in. choke from Miocene Upper Tex W perforations at 10,359-370 ft.
Caviar IV tested 4.3 MMcfd with 3,660 psi on the same size choke from the same formation at 10,369-430 ft.
Production is to start in mid-2008 after the partners lay a 5-mile pipeline. Yuma, operator with 25% working interest, generated the prospects, each of which is a one-well feature.
Texas — East
EnCana Corp., Calgary, drilled 11 net wells in its Amoruso field deep Jurassic Bossier gas play in East Texas in the quarter ended Mar. 31 and plans to have drilled 35 wells there in 2008.
Five wells brought on line in the quarter averaged 25 MMcfd, and one exceeded 60 MMcfd. Two wells proved up the northern end of the field.
EnCana, with 100% working interest, commissioned a plant in February, increasing processing capacity to 450 MMcfd. In November 2007 when it announced it was acquiring Leor Energy Co.’s 50% interest in Amoruso field, said it expected production to average 315-355 MMcfd in 2008. It estimated that the acquired lands had 200 drilling locations.