Ireland: Providence to drill Kish Bank basin oil prospect | Oil & Gas Journal

Providence Resources PLC and the Star Energy Group PLC subsidiary of Malaysia’s state Petronas plan to drill an exploratory well in the Kish Bank basin off eastern Ireland and have applied to convert the LO 08/2 license to a standard exploration license.

The Dalkey Island prospect is in 25 m of water 10 km off Dublin. Providence recently commissioned a third party geochemical study on residual oil samples from a nearby well that confirmed the presence of a highly mature Paleozoic marine oil prone source rock in the Kish Bank basin. Drilling depth is 1,700 m.

Considerable exploratory risk remains, but the geochemical studies “provided significant encouragement as a similar interval is considered to be the source for the prolific producing oilfields in the Liverpool Bay Area, offshore UK,” said Providence.

More in Area Drilling

Oilfield Service Technology Pitfalls And how to avoid them.

Oilfield Service Technology Pitfalls And how to avoid them.

Oilfield service is a tricky business for a number of reasons. But fluctuating demand driven by commodity prices are the root cause behind a number of the challenges executives in this industry face

Vantage to buy QEP’s Williston basin assets in $1.7-billion deal

QEP Energy Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Denver-based QEP Resources Inc., has agreed to sell all its assets in the Williston basin in North Dakota and Montana, which includes the South Antelope and Fort Berthold leasehold and various mineral interests, to Vantage Acquisition Operating Co. LLC, Denver, a subsidiary of Vantage Energy Acquisition Corp., for as much as $1.725 billion, subject to purchase price adjustments.

181105ogjxdi Z01

Exploration in Egypt, Ecuador, Russia, and Mongolia pushes boundaries

Oil and gas companies are exploring in disparate parts of the world to add more reserves to fulfill growing world energy demand. Egypt intensified oil and gas exploration efforts in the Mediterranean and Red Sea while Ecuador recently opened more onshore blocks to international investors.

181105ogjdzh Z01

Researchers improve China’s Sulige Su-A gas production

Researchers improved and stabilized production for 75 vertical wells on Su-A block of China’s Sulige tight sandstone gas field. They implemented measures that could guide the development of ultralow permeability gas reservoirs elsewhere.

Beach Energy sells 40% of its Otway basin interests

Beach Energy Ltd., Adelaide, has sold 40% of its Victorian-Tasmanian Otway basin interests to Monaco-based Israeli businessman Eyal Ofer’s OG Energy Holdings Ltd. for $344 million (Aus.) in cash.

LLOG Exploration brings deepwater gulf wells online

LLOG Exploration Co. LLC, Covington, La., has brought online several wells in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico and will move forward with additional development projects.

IHS Markit: Offshore drilling rigs to rise through 2020

Consistently higher oil prices and greater cost–efficiency in offshore projects are driving increased demand for offshore drilling rigs through 2020, particularly for deepwater projects, according to recent analysis from IHS Markit.

180903ogjxsk Z01

Egypt cutting arrears to spur natural gas exploration

Egypt remains at the top of the list for international oil companies (IOC), mid-caps, and small exploration and production (E&P) companies considering new concessions.

180903ogjxwi Z01

Bamaga basin emerges as potential Eastern Australia gas supply source

Eastern Australian politicians and industry are grappling with a looming east coast domestic natural gas supply crisis. Sydney-based Gulf Energy Ltd. has secured a leasehold over the whole of a new exploration area called Bamaga basin in the Gulf of Carpentaria, 150 km off the north Queensland coast.

Lundin appraisal well derisks new play concept off Norway

Lundin Petroleum plans an extended well test and further exploration drilling following positive results on Rolvsnes that derisk the similar on-trend prospectivity on an adjacent license.

Equinor outlines plan to transform work on NCS

Equinor is introducing new measures to transform the Norwegian continental shelf to tackle future challenges of declining production, ageing installations, and the need for reduced carbon dioxide emissions.

Sherritt resumes Block 10 drilling in Cuba

Sherritt International Corp., Toronto, has resumed drilling of its second exploration well on Block 10 in Cuba after suspending work last year to study wellbore targeting.

North Slope riches

The state of Alaska is offering what officials describe as “a veritable cornucopia of information” for anyone interested in exploring for North Slope oil.

180730ogjjspk P01

Gulf methane hydrates

Plans are progressing for the next stage of methane hydrate scientific drilling by the University of Texas at Austin (UT) and its partners on the US Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Researchers hit a momentary snag regarding research vessels.