The Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) offered for award 113 license areas over 259 blocks or partial blocks to 65 companies in the UK's 32nd Offshore Licensing Round.
The round offered blocks in mature, producing areas close to existing infrastructure, under the flexible terms of the Innovate License, which enables applicants to define a license duration and phasing that will allow them to execute the optimal work program.
The majority of the licenses will enter the Initial Term (Phase A or Phase B exploration stage), and 16 of the awards are for licenses that will proceed straight to Second Term, either for potential developments, or redevelopments of fields where production had ceased and the acreage had been relinquished.
As previously noted by the OGA, no license round will take place in what would have been the 2020-21 period. The regulator said the pause will “allow relinquishments to take place so more coherent areas may be re-offered in future, giving industry time to deliver on work commitments in the existing portfolio of licenses.”
Awards
A few oil and gas companies released statements about expected awards.
Independent Oil and Gas PLC subsidiary IOG North Sea Ltd. (IOGNSL) has been offered four new UK Southern North Sea (SNS) blocks by the OGA in round, the company said Sept. 3. The blocks are all adjacent to IOG’s existing assets and within range of the Thames Pipeline.
The joint venture of IOGNSL (50%, operator) and CalEnergy Resources (UK) Ltd. (50%) has been offered a license covering Blocks 49/21e and 49/22b.
Block 49/21e in water depth of 30-40 m and adjacent to the three IOG-operated Vulcan Satellites licenses, contains the Viper gas discovery (to be renamed Panther upon confirmation of award) with initial management estimated mid-case recoverable gas resources of 46 bcfe based mainly on analysis of data from the 49/21-9Z well drilled by EOG Resources in 2004. This volume is commensurate with a two-well unmanned platform development, as intended with the nearby Elland field. Viper is effectively a fourth Vulcan Satellite field 5km northwest of Elland and 10 km north of Southwark, to which the 24-in. Thames Pipeline is set to be extended as part of the Phase 1 development. The work program entails reprocessing of 79 sq km 3D seismic up to Pre-Stack Depth Migration and reservoir modelling on Viper to help refine the recoverable resource estimate, inform potential field development plans, and evaluate possible further resources across the block.
Block 49/22—directly east of Block 49/21e in 20-40 m water depth—contains the Sinope South gas discovery (to be renamed Grafton upon confirmation of award), with initial management estimated mid-case recoverable gas resources of 35 bcfe commensurate with a single-well unmanned platform development. The work program entails reprocessing 100 sq km of 3D seismic up to PSDM to help refine the recoverable resource estimate, inform potential field development plans, and evaluate possible further resources across the block, including the small additional Isca discovery.
IOGNSL (100%) has been offered Blocks 48/23d and 48/24c, between the Blythe and Harvey licenses, containing the Allerdale, Driftwood, and Bradfield prospects and a possible northwest extension of Redwell field. The work commitment on these two blocks, which lie in 20-30 m water depth, is to undertake 61 sq km of 3D seismic reprocessing up to PSDM. This will refine the view of the subsurface potential and ties in with the additional 3D seismic reprocessing work currently under way on the Harvey and Redwell licenses, results of which are expected later this year.
Talon Petroleum Ltd. has been offered three areas as part of the licensing round. The company said in a Sept. 3 release that further updates will be provided as the formal process proceeds with OGA.
Jersey Oil & Gas (JOG) said Sept. 3 that it has been awarded, subject to documentation, a 100% working interest in, and operatorship of, partial block 20/5e in the licensing round. The block lies within JOG's existing Greater Buchan Area (GBA) development acreage and contains an extension of the J2 (well 20/05a-10Y) oil discovery.
JOG understands that the partial block will be incorporated within license P2498 (Blocks 20/5a & 21/1a) awarded to JOG in the OGA's 31st Offshore Supplementary Licensing Round, which contains Buchan oil field and the J2 oil discovery and forms the basis of JOG's proposed GBA development plans.