Crescent, Rosneft plan onshore Sharjah wells

By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, June 7 -- Crescent Petroleum and Rosneft Oil Co. will drill two wells under a farmout agreement covering a large concession near mature onshore gas and condensate production in Sharjah.

The companies earlier formed a strategic cooperation pact covering exploration and development in the Middle East and Africa (OGJ Online, May 21, 2010).

The farmout agreement covers Crescent’s 1,243 sq km concession east of and adjacent to a concession area where operator BP Sharjah Ltd. and precursors have produced natural gas and condensate since the early 1980s from Sajaa, Moveyeid, and Kahaif fields.

Rosneft, Moscow, will receive 49% of the participating interest in the concession, while Crescent, a privately held company based in Sharjah, will retain 51%.

The companies agreed to invest about $60 million on exploration, including the drilling of two wells to about 14,800 ft.

Only two wells have been drilled on the concession covered by the new agreement, which abuts all six other members of the United Arab Emirates as well as Oman. Neither well reached the Lower Cretaceous Thamama formation productive in BP Sharjah’s fields along a thrust trend to the west.

Crescent said the concession has secondary objectives in Upper Cretaceous Qahlah and Simsima strata. It said the earlier exploratory wells flowed 37º gravity black oil from Qahlah rocks.

The company said any production resulting from its venture with Rosneft could make use of existing facilities, which include pipelines and a gas plant in Sajaa field.