First deepwater Shelburne basin well disappoints

Sept. 21, 2016
The first well on Shell Canada Ltd.'s deepwater Shelburne basin exploration project is non-commercial.

Offshore staff

CALGARY, ALBERTA— The first well on the deepwater Shelburne basin exploration project offshore Canada has been completed and is non-commercial.

Joint venture partner Suncor Energy announced the findings after being informed by project operator Shell Canada Ltd.

As a result, Suncor says that in 3Q it will write off its share of the cost of the well under the commercial terms of its farm-in agreement. The company places its cost at around $105 million (after taxes).

The co-venturers weathered some issues during operations. Drilling washalted in Marchwhen a riser was dropped from the Stena IceMAX drillship to the seafloor. The Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board permitted drilling to resume with restrictions in June.

The Shelburne basin exploration project is a deepwater drilling program about 250 km (155 mi) offshore south of Halifax,Nova Scotia involving six exploration licenses. Shell says the program’s purpose is to determine the potential presence of hydrocarbons in the Southwest Scotian Shelf, in water depths ranging from 1,500 to 3,500 m (4,921 to 11,482 ft).

Joint venture participants in the Shelburne basin project are operatorShell Canada Ltd. (50%), ConocoPhillips Canada East Coast Partnership (30%), and Suncor Energy (20%).

09/21/2016