Exploration/Development Briefs

Dec. 9, 2013

Ivory Coast

Private South African concern Taleveras Group has signed agreements with Afren PLC, Ivory Coast's state Petroci, and the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum to acquire an interest in offshore Block CI-523, which contains the undeveloped Ibex oil and gas discovery. Taleveras also acquired an interest in Block CI-525, near the marine border with Ghana. Block CI-525 contains the Kudu and Eland gas discoveries.

Taleveras signed a memorandum of understanding with Petroci in July 2011 to collaborate on upstream activities in Ivory Coast and has since entered into production sharing contracts on four offshore exploration blocks.

Madagascar

South Atlantic Petroleum, Lagos, and Marex Inc., Houston, have let a contract to Fugro GeoConsulting for a hydrocarbon seep survey of the central Mozambique Channel deepwater frontier offshore Madagascar.

Sapetro and Marex hold nearly 70,000 sq km of exploration permits in the French territory of Juan de Nova and the Belo Profond block in Madagascar waters.

The survey is designed to scientifically identify and sample areas where natural seeps may be venting hydrocarbon-rich fluids. Sapetro last year collected samples from multiyear-persisting surface oil slicks that had been detected on satellite radar.

A major four-way structural closure believed to be of Cretaceous age near to the seeps will be explored with a 3D seismic program by the PGS M/V Ramform Sterling in early first quarter 2014 (OGJ Online, Sept. 23, 2013).

Sapetro said, "This general region of East Africa has yielded many very large natural gas discoveries, but the actual geologic window with oil, instead of gas, has been elusive."

Namibia

Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas Ltd., Toronto, said interpretation of 1,500 line-km of 2D seismic on the Cooper block in the Walvis basin offshore Namibia is positive concerning oil and gas potential.

Interpretation of the seismic data by Petroleum Geo-Services of England concluded that the block has good structural and stratigraphic hydrocarbon potential in the form of channels-fans and tilted fault blocks and has clearly defined a synrift wedge and an Upper Cretaceous fan system.

The report's aim is to identify leads and outline potential target areas for the near future acquisition of 3D seismic data. Eco (Atlantic) holds four licenses offshore and onshore Namibia.

Romania

East West Petroleum Corp., Vancouver, BC, said seismic surveys are under way on the Tria (EX-2) block in Romania and will start shortly on the Baile Felix (EX-3), Periam (EX-7), and Biled (EX-8) blocks that have now been ratified by the Romanian government.

According to terms of the October 2011 farmout with Naftna Industrija Srbije jsc Novi Sad (NIS), NIS will earn an 85% interest by contributing 100% of the costs through the mandatory Phase 1 and optional Phase 2 exploration periods. East West will retain a 15% carried interest across all blocks through Phase 1 and Phase 2.

The minimum Phase 1 exploration mandatory program across all four blocks includes shooting and interpreting 2D and 3D seismic data and drilling three wells per block for 12 wells in total over the next 2 years. The four blocks cover a combined 1 million gross acres in the Pannonian basin.

Quebec

Petrolia Inc., Quebec City, Que., said a stratigraphic test well in Quebec's Gaspe Peninsula 60 miles east of Rimouski has confirmed the presence of gas in a Silurian sandstone.

The core hole was drilled to 1,416 m in an area of the unorganized territory of Lake Casault. Samples will be analyzed in coming months to determine permeability and porosity of the sandstone. The finding validated results of the core log taken from a former well drilled nearby, Petrolia said.

The well in the La Verendrye project is part of a broader plan to develop licenses acquired in 2013 in the Lower St. Lawrence and Gaspe. Drilling the well were Petrolia and Saint-Aubin Energie SAS, a joint investment vehicle held one-third by Etablissements Maurel et Prom SA, Paris, and two-thirds by MPI SA.

Texas-Gulf Coast

FieldPoint Petroleum Corp., Austin, and Riley Exploration Group, Blanchard, Okla., signed a joint exploration agreement to horizontally drill new wells and rework existing vertical wells in Serbin field in Lee and Bastrop counties, Tex. The firms will pool lease interests in the field and drill as many as 12 horizontal wells in 2014 and an undetermined number over the 5-year agreement span, sharing expenses and revenue pro rata as determined by the acreage contributed by each. This will result in Riley owning 75% working interest and FieldPoint 25%.

FieldPoint has working interests in 72 producing oil and gas wells in Serbin field, 50 miles east of Austin. Cretaceous Taylor sand produces 46° gravity oil from 5,300-5,600 ft true vertical depth.