Romania: Sterling unit's Black Sea farmout approved | Oil & Gas Journal

Romania’s National Agency of Mineral Resources has approved the transfer to Midia Resources SRL subsidiary of Sterling Resources Ltd. of 40% of the working interest held by Melrose Resources PLC in the Muridava exploration concession.

Midia holds interests in nearby licenses, and the equity transfer will facilitate the capture of regional operating synergies, Melrose said. Melrose will remain operator with 40% interest, and Petromar Resources SA has 20%.

Sterling noted that the Muridava block is in shallow water and contains the 2001 Olimpiyskaya hydrocarbon discovery.

Melrose said Muridava and the adjoining Est Cobalcescu acreage offer material exploratory potential in an underexplored region of the Black Sea. Seismic and a multiwell drilling program are planned in the next 3 years.

More in Exploration & Development

How to overcome casing flotation limitations to access the full wellbore

How to overcome casing flotation limitations to access the full wellbore

Running casing to depth in long lateral sections is challenging, often costing operators a significant portion of pay zone at the toe of the well. This article highlights a technology that helped one operator add $120,000 to its incremental gas recovery.

Tullow reports oil discovery opens play off Guyana

Tullow Oil PLC reported that a recent oil discovery has opened a new Upper Tertiary oil play in the Guyana basin.

ExxonMobil reports oil discovery offshore Guyana at Tripletail

ExxonMobil Corp. reported making an oil discovery offshore Guyana with the Tripletail-1 well in the Turbot area on the Stabroek block, adding to an estimated recoverable resource of 6 billion boe.

Interior releases final EIS for ANWR coastal plain leasing program

The US Department of the Interior released a final environmental impact statement on Sept. 12 for oil and gas lease sales on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s coastal plain that was authorized under Section 2001 of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Job Act.

GeoPark preliminarily awarded four blocks in Brazil

GeoPark Ltd. was preliminarily awarded four exploration blocks in the Reconcavo and Potiguar basins in Brazil in the first cycle of the permanent offer held by Brazil’s National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels.

Contract let for Sarta processing facility

A Chevron unit has let a contract to Oilserv for supply of a 20,000-b/d central processing facility for Sarta oil field in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, reports Genel Energy. Oilserv will build, install, operate, and maintain the facility under a lease.

Cairn Energy to start drilling offshore Mexico in third quarter

Cairn Energy PLC of Edinburgh said it plans to start drilling offshore Mexico in this year’s third quarter on Block 9, where it holds 50% interest and is the operator.

Talos Energy gets nod for additional exploration offshore Mexico

Talos Energy Inc. received a 2-year contract extension and regulatory approvals for additional exploration activities on Block 7 offshore Mexico in the Sureste basin. Talos operates Block 7. Its partners include Sierra Oil & Gas and Premier Oil PLC.

US gas resource base broke records by yearend 2018, PGC reports

Estimated US gas resources increased to a record 3,374 tcf at yearend 2018, 20% more than 2 years earlier, which represents the largest 2-year increase in the assessment’s 54-year history, the CSM's Potential Gas Committee and the AGA jointly reported.

ANPG discusses frontier offshore blocks

Representatives of the National Agency of Petroleum, Gas, and Biofuels of Angola (ANPG) discussed details of ANPG’s latest exploration and production bid round covering 10 frontier offshore blocks during a road show stop in Houston on Sept. 10.

Alberta okays MEG’s Surmont SAGD project

The Alberta government has approved the development plan for MEG Energy Corp.’s Surmont oil sands project 53 miles south of Fort McMurray. The phased project is to have ultimate production capacity of about 120,000 b/d of bitumen from SAGD.

190906 Cooper Annie Map

Cooper Energy-led JV makes gas discovery offshore Otway

The 50-50 joint venture of Cooper Energy Ltd., Adelaide, and Japanese entity Mitsui E&P Australia has reported a natural gas discovery with the Annie-1 wildcat in permit Vic/P44 in the Victorian section of the offshore Otway basin.

Strike Energy completes gas discovery 'trifecta' at West Erregulla

A 50-50 joint venture led by Strike Energy Ltd. with Warrego Energy Ltd. has confirmed a natural gas discovery in a third reservoir in its West Erregulla-2 well in the onshore North Perth basin of Western Australia.

BHP lets seismic contract for work offshore eastern Canada

BHP Petroleum Corp. has let a large-scale seismic imaging project in the offshore Orphan basin in eastern Canada to Subsurface Imaging, part of CGG’s Geoscience division.