Iceland’s first licensing round nets two bidders

Iceland’s National Energy Authority (NEA), which recently launched the country’s first-ever licensing round, said it received bids from two companies for exploration rights to the northern Dreki area.

“This is a big day in the history of Iceland’s energy resources utilization,” said Industry Minister Katrin Juliusdottir as quoted by the Icelandic daily Morgunbladid.

NEA said it received applications from Aker Exploration as well as a combined bid from Sagex Petroleum and Lindir Exploration for Blocks IS6708/1, IS6708/2, IS6808/11, and IS6909/11.

Blocks IS6808/11 and IS6909/11 are within the area of an Oct. 22, 1981, agreement between Norway and Iceland on the continental shelf between Iceland and Jan Mayen (OGJ Online, Sept. 5, 2008).

As a result of that agreement, according to one official, the Icelandic authority will have to consult with Norwegian authorities before it can grant permission to companies to explore the area of shared sovereignty.

NEA, which announced the licensing round on Jan. 22, said it would evaluate the bids and announce its decision by the end of October this year.

NEA expressed disappointment in the low number of bidders, saying that “the difficult conditions in the world economy as well as the low oil prices have undoubtedly affected other parties that were interested in the licensing round.”

Altogether, Iceland plans to offer 100 offshore oil and gas licenses this year. At the time of the January launch, NEA said individual applications for licenses may cover one or more of the blocks or partial blocks, up to a maximum of 800 sq km.

“The number of licenses on offer is up to five as a maximum,” NEA said, adding, “Applicants are also encouraged to nominate a secondary area in case of an area of first choice overlapping with other applications.”

Spectrum ASA, Oslo, and Australian Seismic Brokers are reprocessing 15,800 km of regional 2D data from Australia’s Northwest Shelf.

The deep-imaging data, which incorporate scores of key well ties, were originally recorded to 16 sec using a 5,000-m streamer by Australian Geological Survey Organisation in the 1980s-90s.

Reprocessing focuses on accurate and detailed velocity analysis and preserving amplitudes for subsequent amplitude variation with offset information, and on providing improved structural and stratigraphic imaging.

To be completed by September 2009, the new dataset will comprise prestack time migration stacks, gathers, angle stacks, velocities, and navigation data. The first reprocessed lines available will be those related to the upcoming acreage release by the Australian government in the Exmouth and southern Browse areas.

Ecopetrol’s Hocol SA subsidiary has an indicated gas-condensate discovery on the Niscota block in the Andes foothills 186 miles northeast of Bogota.

Talisman Energy Inc., whose Colombian subsidiary holds 30% interest in the Llanos basin block, said the Huron-1 exploration well was spud in June 2008 and has drilled to 18,275 ft.

It has encountered several reservoirs in a heavily faulted area. One reservoir tested at 3,400 b/d of condensate. Gas volume wasn’t disclosed.

The well, in the Casanare area of Piedemonte department, is being deepened to complete evaluation of the prospective section.

Hocol is operator with 20% interest. Tepma BV, Bogota, has 50%.

Consulting engineers estimated a prospective resource of 10.8 tcf of gas and 143 million bbl of oil for the D3 and D9 exploration licenses in the Krishna Godavari basin off India, said Hardy Oil & Gas PLC.

The technical review incorporated data from the company’s Dhirubhai-39 and 41 discoveries and extensive geological and geophysical work undertaken by the respective joint ventures. That work includes more than 2,000 sq km of 3D seismic data on D3 and

prestack time migration 3D seismic data processing and a constrained source electromagnetic survey on D9.

Using a play-based exploration methodology, the potential gross risked best estimate resource for the D3 block is estimated at 9.5 tcf. This includes identified prospects and leads and a number of postulated prospects based on the play area and field size distribution.

Etoco LP, private Houston independent, proposes to drill two rank wildcats in east-central Colorado in nonproducing El Paso County.

The company sought state permits to drill the State-1 and Ververs-1 wells about 10 miles east of Colorado Springs to 7,000 ft.

The objectives are the Upper Cretaceous Fort Hays (Niobrara) and Codell formations, IHS Inc. reports. The locations are 45 miles northeast of Florence-Canon City oil and gas field and 50 miles south of nearest oil and gas production in the Denver basin.