Offshore staff
ADELAIDE, Australia -- Beach Petroleum has received Ministerial approval to acquire interests in the North Shadwan and South East July concessions in the Gulf of Suez.
North Shadwan is operated by BP Exploration (Delta) and contains three existing, undeveloped oil discoveries and several attractive exploration prospects, the company says.
Government approval to develop two of these fields, close to the eastern shore of the Gulf, has been granted, with first production from these fields planned for late in 2009. The JV operating company (named Petroshadwan) is currently being established.
Drilling is under way on the third discovery, with the Burtocal-2 well appraising the NS394-1A "Burtocal" discovery made in late 2007. According to the company, the discovery well penetrated a thick oil column within the Nubia Formation, an extremely prolific reservoir across the Gulf of Suez.
The appraisal well is testing separate fault compartments in the Burtocal structure and is designed to assist in delineating potential reserves to allow for evaluation of possible development options, the company says.
11/07/2008
