Guyana
CGX Energy Inc., Toronto, let a contract to Fugro-GeoTeam to shoot 500 sq km of 3D seismic in the Guyana-Suriname basin in the Atlantic off Guyana.
The 4-week program is to take place later this summer using a dual airgun 8 by 6,000 m solid state streamer spread.
The survey is to fulfill the minimum work commitment on the Corentyne license through its first renewal second phase, CGX said (see map, OGJ, Mar. 8, 2004, p. 41).
The program is designed to cover the four prospects for which Gustavson Associates LLC, Boulder, Colo., calculated a combined best estimate (P50) prospective resource to be 2.7 billion bbl of oil. The best leads are a series of structural traps in Upper Cretaceous.
New Zealand
Australian Worldwide Exploration Ltd. took a farmout from Austral Pacific Energy Ltd., Wellington, NZ, to earn an 80% interest in PEP 38524 in Tasman Bay off New Zealand.
AWE will fund a 350 line-km 2D seismic survey on the block. The farmout is subject to ministerial approval of a revised work program.
AWE will operate the seismic and any drilling undertaken on the 2,187 sq km permit west of D’Urville Island. The area is interpreted to form an extension of the South Taranaki basin, which includes Kupe South and Maari oil and gas fields.
Russia
Lundin Petroleum AB, Stockholm, has spud the Morskaya-1 exploration well in the Lagansky block in the northwestern Caspian Sea off Russia.
The well, first in a four-well program planned for 2008-09, is projected to 2,000 m in 7 ft of water. Objectives are Triassic and Jurassic sandstone reservoirs.
Lundin’s interest in the block is 70%.
Tanzania
Key Petroleum of Australia and Aminex PLC were awarded a production-sharing agreement on the 504-sq-km Songo Songo West area off Tanzania west of Songo Songo gas field.
The PSA is held 50% by Aminex’s Ndovu Resources Ltd. subsidiary and 50% by Key Petroleum subsidiary Funguo Petroleum Pty. Ltd. Key is operator.
Key is a 20% partner with Aminex in the nearby Nyuni PSA, which includes the Kiliwani North gas discovery now under test.
The full PSA term is for 11 years, and one well is required in the first 3 years. Songo Songo West has extensive seismic.
Thailand
Salamander Energy PLC is estimating gross proved reserves of 11 million bbl, up 52%, at Bualuang field in the Gulf of Thailand after development wells found better quality reservoir than prognosed.
Probable and possible reserves are elevated 34% to 20 million bbl.
Porosities averaged more than 30% and more than 92% net to gross, and the development wells found much greater oil saturation than the appraisal wells. Fieldwide oil-water contact is at 1,130 m subsea, and crude assayed at 27° gravity. The field has nine wells.
Salamander operates the field in Block B8/38 with 60% interest, and Soco International PLC has 40%.
The wells are equipped with electric submersible pumps and ready to connect to the Rubicon Vantage floating production, storage, and offloading vessel under precommissioning at Rayong. Production is to start early in the second half.
Trinidad and Tobago
Jasmin Oil & Gas Ltd., private Trinidad operator, and Maxim Resources Inc., Vancouver, BC, will drill four wells to 3,500 ft to develop their 2006 oil discovery on the South Erin Property 40 miles southwest of Port of Spain, Trinidad.
The development also involves a crude oil sales line, electrification, and storage tanks.
The discovery well is on test since July 2007 and has been flowing 85 b/d of oil at 500 psig. It initially flowed a combined 722 b/d of oil from Miocene Lower Forest A and B sands and Middle Cruse sand. Middle Cruse is at 5,000 ft (OGJ, Feb. 5, 2007, p. 39).
It is Trinidad’s largest onshore oil discovery in several decades, Maxim Resources said.
Montana
Brigham Exploration Co., Austin, is completing a third apparent Ordovician Red River discovery in Sheridan County, Mont.
The Richardson 30-1, under completion, follows Richardson 25-1 completed at 254 boe/d in late December 2007. The 25-1 well has produced 25,500 boe and is making 135 b/d of oil.
Operator Brigham controls 100,000 net acres in eastern Montana prospective for Red River, Bakken, and other formations. Northern Oil & Gas has 9.9% and 12.5% working interest, respectively, in the 25-1 and 30-1 wells.
Brigham’s first Red River discovery, drilled in 1997, has produced more than 276,000 boe, and its estimated ultimate recovery is more than 330,000 boe. The company has 215 sq miles of 3D data in the area.
Utah
An undisclosed large public company will pay $8.4 million to buy from Pioneer Oil & Gas, South Jordan, Utah, a 15% working interest in 199,000 acres in Pioneer’s Central Utah Overthrust acreage position.
Pioneer will retain a 3.75% working interest and various overriding royalty interests and is participating in a large geophysical survey covering much of the acreage.
