Australia
Beach Petroleum Ltd., Perth, commissioned the 47 km, 5,000 b/d Callawonga-Tantanna oil pipeline to serve its western Cooper basin fields in Australia.
The pipeline connects with Moomba via Santos Ltd.’s Tantanna facility and forwards oil to Port Bonython. It carried its first oil in August, and shipments reached 3,000 b/d by Sept. 10.
One discovery served by the new line is Parsons-1, which began producing in June at 1,600 b/d. Beach is exploring the Jurassic Namur and Hutton sandstones in the western part of the basin.
Guyana
YPF Guyana Ltd., a subsidiary of Repsol YPF SA, let a contract to Fugro-GeoTeam for a 1,650 sq km marine 3D seismic survey on the Georgetown petroleum prospecting license in the Atlantic off Guyana, said 25% interest holder CGX Energy Inc., Toronto.
Work is to start in late September using the R/V Geo Pacific. The 3D work is to be conducted jointly with CGX’s previously announced 536 sq km 3D program on the adjacent Corentyne PPL, in which CGX’s interest is 100%.
CGX said it will realize savings from economies of shared mobilization and longer sailing lines on the Corentyne program. The company placed on hold the Corentyne farmout process until the 3D seismic data are received and preliminary interpretation completed.
Namibia
Petroholland Ltd., a Dubai holding company, signed a farmout agreement with Circle Oil PLC to earn a 70% interest in 70,000 sq km in the Ovambo basin in Namibia just south of the border with Angola.
Petroholland, to earn the 70% interest, is to pay Circle $15 million in cash and cover all costs attributable to Circle’s 20% share of exploration and development expenditure through to production. Namibia’s Minister for Energy and Mines has approved assignment of the 70% interest.
North Dakota
Northern Oil & Gas Inc., Wayzata, Minn., said it participated in eight North Dakota Bakken shale oil wells operated by others at which initial production averaged 768 b/d.
The wells are in Mountrail and Dunn counties and are operated by Hess Corp., Slawson Exploration, ConocoPhillips, and Marathon Oil Corp. Northern holds working interests in 21 producing wells and 65,000 net acres.
Northern is participating in five other wells that target the Bakken and five wells that target the Three Forks-Sanish formation. Those wells are in Divide, Mountrail, and Dunn counties.
Utah
Marion Energy Ltd., Melbourne, has spud the first of three infill wells in an area of Clear Creek gas field in Utah, drilled in the 1950s-60s on 1,000-acre spacing.
The Oman 10-19 directional well is projected to Cretaceous Ferron sandstone at 5,700 ft in the central part of the unit. The field is in Carbon and Emery counties. Marion Energy has 236 bcf of proved and probable reserves in the field.