Operators push limits of deepwater Gulf of Mexico
Eldon Ball • Houston
Operators continue to push the boundaries of deepwater drilling and production in the Gulf of Mexico. At the end of 2002, there were 65 projects producing in water depths greater than 1,000 ft (305 m) in the GoM. Five years later, that number had doubled to 130.
In 2007, for the first time in history, all 20 of the highest producing blocks in the Gulf were in deepwater.
For this month’s issue, we askedLars Herbst, regional director for the Gulf of Mexico OCS Region of the US Minerals Management Service, to update our readers on just how much deepwater exploration and production dominates the US Gulf.
As he points out, technology is evolving to meet deepwater demands. In 2007, MMS approved the use of 15 new technologies in the Gulf region. Four examples include the OmniMAX anchor; the use of pre-set polyester moorings for deepwater drilling rigs; a disconnectable, internal turret mooring system for ship-shaped floating production systems, and various forms of subsea boosting, including subsea pump systems for enhanced hydrocarbon resource recovery.
There’s more to the story. Don’t miss his full report, beginning onpage 32.
And Mexico wants to join the party
Meanwhile, on the Mexican side of the Gulf, as Mexico’s oil output falls sharply with the decline of the supergiant Cantarell field in the Gulf of Mexico, the government of Felipe Calderon has decided to make major issues of exploring deepwater fields and of making state-run Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) a more efficient contractor.
In pushing for reforms, the government says deepwater is vital to the industry’s future, given the maturity and limited geological potential of onshore and offshore areas currently producing. The government also wants to find ways of exploiting cross-border oil fields in the deepwater Perdido Fold Belt on the US-Mexico maritime boundary, where IOCs are already working in fields such as Great White, Trident, Baha, and Hammerhead on the US side. Seismic studies carried out by Pemex show that cross-border fields in Perdido likely exist.
Contributing Editor David Shields takes a look at how these developments may play out in his insightful analysis beginning on page 44.
Hyperdynamics moves ahead with massive Guinea exploration
Hyperdynamics Corp. continues moving forward with its exploration plans over the largest single license offshore West Africa in the Republic of Guinea. The most recent step was to secure a seismic acquisition partner. Geophysical Services Inc. has agreed to invest in seismic data acquisition and processing and to work under a multi-client approach whereby data will be acquired and processed, and revenue shared for future licensing fees.
Hyperdynamics plans to acquire more than 13,000 km (8,078 mi) of 2D which will help narrow the targets for subsequent 3D. The 2D seismic program will cover three phases. Phase I (6,700 linear km or 4,163 mi) will cover a good portion of the shelf-slope on the western side of the concession.
At the same time, some 3D work is scheduled on already identified prospects to fix locations for drilling. This could start as early as late 2008 or early 1Q 2009. Hyperdynamics plans three phases of the 3D seismic coverage. Phase I will cover many of the already identified structural and stratigraphic features in Hyperdynamics’ portfolio.
This GSI agreement highlights Hyperdynamics’ welcomed quandary. The company holds all of Guinea’s offshore territory – 31,000 sq mi (80,290 sq km) of virtually undrilled area. This is the largest single holding by far offshore West Africa, but there is little direct exploration history over the area. The Buttes Resources No. 1 is the only well, and it was drilled in 1977.
Gene Kliewer, Technology Editor, Subsea & Seismic, brings us the full story beginning on page 60.
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