Asia-Pacific energy demand drives offshore exploration, development

Exploration is featured offshore Indonesia. Searcher Seismic and DMNG have begun a 3,882-km (2,412-mi) 2D seismic survey in the South Halmahera basin. The partners plan to acquire a 15 km x 15 km (9 mi x 9 mi) 2D long-offset seismic grid covering 32,000 sq km (12,355 sq mi). The companies say the survey's objective is to explore the postulated continental crust wedged between the oceanic Pacific plate to the east and the Molucca Sea to the west.

Premier reports good progress on the Gajah Baru project. Fabrication has started in Batam both on the central process facility at the PT SMOE yard and on the wellhead platform at the sub-contractor Nippon Steel's yard.

First gas is anticipated in October 2011.

ENI has awarded a $60-million contract for manufacture and supply of subsea equipment for Kitan field development in 1,000 ft (310 m) of water in the Timor Sea. Under the agreement, FMC will supply three subsea production trees and all associated control systems and umbilicals. Delivery is scheduled to begin in 2010.

The service contract 54 block A (SC 54A) joint venture partners have approved development of the Tindalo oilfield, offshore Philippines.

The field was discovered by the Tindalo-1 exploration well in October 2008. The well was in 100 m (328 ft) of water and targeted a pinnacle reef structure similar to the nearby, producing Nido and Matinloc oil fields. The well intersected a 124-m to 144-m (407-ft to 472-ft) oil column in Miocene carbonate reservoir.

The field will be developed using a leased, jackup rig, which will re-enter and complete the suspended Tindalo-1 well for production. The field partners plan to use electric submersible pumps as part of the well completion to maintain production rates throughout the life of the field.

The jackup will remain on location to provide a stable, weather-tolerant production platform, the partners say. Crude oil from the well will be processed on the rig and sent to a nearby leased FPSO.

First oil is anticipated in the second quarter of this year at an initial rate of around 7,000-15,000 b/d.

The Dabakan-1 well in the South Sulu Sea has hit pay, according to operator ExxonMobil. The well encountered reservoir sands and hydrocarbons, the company says.

The rigWest Aquarius will drill the well further to TD of approximately 5,000 m (16,400 ft). This will set a record for the deepest drilled well in the Philippines.

The Songkhla A-08 development well on block G5/43 in the Gulf of Thailand has struck oil, according to Coastal Energy Co. The well, drilled to a total measured depth of 9,112 ft (2,777 m), logged approximately 92 ft (28 m) of net pay with 18% porosity in the Lower Oligocene primary reservoir, the company reports. The well is currently testing over 3,500 b/d of oil with a 3% water cut.

PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP) has awarded CUEL a $110-million contract for the Arthit 1C wellhead platforms development project in the Gulf of Thailand. Under the agreement, CUEL will provide project management; engineering; procurement; construction; loadout and seafastening; transportation; offshore installation and tie-ins; pre-commissioning; and brownfield modification services of four wellhead platforms and four pipelines.

Vietnam has become a notably active petroleum prospecting region.

PetroVietnam Drilling & Well Services has awarded Keppel FELS a $460,000 bonus for early delivery of the jackupPV Drilling III. The rig, completed one and a half months ahead of schedule, has left Keppel FELS to begin a five-year contract with Vietsovpetro on the Bach Ho field, offshore Vietnam

Exploration well 15-01/05 LDN-1X on the Lac Da Nau prospect has hit pay, according to Phu Quy Petroleum Operating Exploration and Production Co. During tests, the well produced 4,200 b/d of 44° API oil. The 15-01/05 LDN-1X is the first well and the first discovery on block 15-01/05, offshore Vietnam. Water depth is 45 m (148 ft).

Premier Oil has issued the main construction contracts for the Chim Sáo development offshore southern Vietnam. EOCP was contracted to convert theLewekEmas into an FPSO vessel with production capability of 50,000 boe/d and oil storage capacity of 680,000 bbl.

Premier expects Chim Sáo development drilling due to start in the middle of this year. First production from the field is slated for July 2011.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade, on behalf of the Vietnamese government, has approved the development plan for the Te Giac Trang (TGT) field in the Cuu Long basin offshore Vietnam, according to operator Hoang Long Joint Operating Co.

Mitsui Oil Exploration Co., its partners, and PetroVietnam have begun design of a $4-billion natural gas project in Vietnam. Mitsui says the production start date is not fixed, but it is expected to be in 2014 at the earliest.

Without as much fanfare as other areas of E&P activity in the Asia-Pacific basin, Malaysia is getting some major projects.

Production has begun from natural gas fields in blocks SK 309 and SK 311 offshore Sarawak, Malaysia, according to Murphy Sarawak Oil Co. Natural gas produced from the phased development will be supplied to the PETRONAS LNG Complex in Bintulu, Sarawak.

Dockwise has completed transport and floatover installation of a 19,000-metric ton (20,944-ton) MDPP offshore production platform for CPOC at the Malaysia-Thailand Joint Development Area blocks B-17, C-19, and B-17-01.

Sabah Shell Petroleum has awarded J P Kenny Wood Group a contract for subsea integration and follow-on engineering works for the Gumusut-Kakap deepwater development located 120 km (75 mi) offshore Sabah, Malaysia. The four-year contract is for the provision of specialist subsea engineers, engineering studies, design, and follow-on engineering supports through to the fabrication and commissioning phases of the project.

The Sabah Shell Petroleum company will be the operator of the development, which will deploy Malaysia's first deepwater semisubmersible with a design production capacity of 150,000 b/d.

The Australian government is extending its offshore exploration incentive in the petroleum resource rent tax (PRRT) by one year. This allows an immediate 150% uplift on PRRT deductions for exploration expenditure incurred in designated offshore frontier areas (DFAs). The extension will enable the incentive to apply to the 2009 annual offshore acreage release.

DFAs must be more than 100 km (62 mi) from an existing commercialized oil discovery, and must not be adjacent to an area designated in the previous year's acreage volume. DFAs may constitute up to 20% of exploration permits issued in a year.

Woodside plans to drill at least 39 wells in deepwater (>500 m [1,640 ft] water depth) Carnarvon basin permits through 2011, which is more than double the number it drilled in deepwater during the period 2000-2008. In the Browse basin, it plans to spud at least six deepwater wells through 2011, compared to four deepwater spuds from 2000-2008.

The Gorgon LNG development off northwestern Australia has garnered a great deal of attention around the world recently, mostly in consideration of its size and the fact that several contracts for the project have been let over the past few months.

In brief, plans call for development of the Greater Gorgon gas fields, beginning with the Gorgon and Jansz-Io gas fields with development facilities installed directly on the ocean floor in water up to 1,300 m (4,265 ft) deep. Two subsea pipelines with a combined length of 240 km (149 mi) will carry the gas to facilities on Barrow Island. Work is scheduled be completed by the end of 2011.

Gorgon is not the only big LNG project under way off Australia. Woodside is working on its Pluto LNG project and as of the first of this year, construction was 83% complete. First gas remains on schedule for the end of this year, followed by first LNG early in 2011.

In mid-October, the platform jacket was launched into its offshore location around 180 km (112 mi) northwest of Karratha, and secured to the seabed by driven piles. The upper and lower deck topsides modules were installed in late November, with the 90-m (295-ft) flare boom fitted in mid-December.

Following a review of the project's cost and schedule, Woodside estimates that the final cost of the foundation project will likely be 6-10% over the budgeted figure of $11.2 billion.

New technology is being applied offshore Australia, too. A girth weld pipeline offshore Western Australia is the first pipeline in the world to be completely inspected using computed radiography, according to Global Technical Services Group (GTSG).

New Zealand's Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee has announced a renewed seismic survey program to encourage oil and gas exploration. As part of Budget 2009, a total of $20 million will be allocated over three years to the seismic data acquisition program, which will be run by Crown Minerals.

Previous surveys have resulted in $1.4 billion of expenditure by exploration companies, particularly in the Great South basin.

"The international oil exploration industry is showing increasing interest in New Zealand following initiatives to make new data freely available to companies wishing to explore here," says Brownlee. "This has translated into increased exploration expenditure and activities across frontier basins that have historically struggled to attract investment in exploration."

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