Concern over whales seeking US Gulf home
Sperm whales have been changing residence through the early summer months, moving to the bustling mouth of the Mississippi River in the Gulf of Mexico. A large number of whales have been reported within miles of the Louisiana coastline, which is unusual because they normally hunt further from shore in deepwater.
Scientists want to know if the move is temporary or permanent, and plan to conduct studies to determine why the whales have moved in and how they are affected by various vessel movements and oil and gas activity.
Devils Tower EPIC contract awarded
J. Ray McDermott subsidiary SparTEC will handle the $200 million turnkey engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPIC) contract to provide a spar platform for the development of the Devils Tower field in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. Oil production is set to begin in 2003. Reserves are estimated at 50-75 million BOE. Devils Tower is in Mississippi Canyon Block 773 in 5,610 ft water depth, which will make this the deepest dry tree platform. The field will be developed using a truss spar with slots for eight dry tree wells and the flexibility to accommodate future subsea tiebacks. Operator Dominion has 75% and Pioneer has 25%. The two sanctioned the project in June.
"Effective planning by our development team will allow us to go from discovery to first production in about three years," said Dominion CEO and President Duane Radtke. "This could be one of the fastest cycle times for a deepwater floating production platform."
Na Kika pipe-in-pipe SCR to be J-layed
Shell awarded Coflexip Stena Offshore a contract to install infield flowlines and risers for the ultra-deepwater Na Kika project in the Gulf of Mexico. CSO said the project defines new frontiers for the industry, both in terms of working depths and technology. The systems on the new ultra-deepwater pipelay vessel CSO Deep Blue will enable the installation of the pipe-in-pipe system using the J-lay solution, and the deepest fully reeled steel catenary risers (SCRs), as well as the deepest pipe-in-pipe SCR, CSO said.
Na Kika ties back five fields using subsea connections. The five will be linked up with the Na Kika floating development and production platform located in Mississippi Canyon 474. The contract involves installation in water depths up to 2,130 meters of over 100 miles length using high specification flowlines. Work will take place between 3Q 2002 and 2Q 2003, during two installation campaigns, CSO said.
Four McMoRan discoveries now flowing
McMoRan Exploration said four of its recent discoveries are now on production:
- North Tern Deep find at Eugene Island 193 No. C-1 is flowing at 60 MMcf/d of natural gas equivalent.
- Raptor find at Ship Shoal 296 No. A-1 and No. A-2 is flowing at 32 MMcf/d of natural gas equivalent.
- Lombardi find at Vermilion 196 No. A-1 is flowing at 35 MMcf/d of natural gas equivalent.
- Thunderbolt find at Eugene Island 97 No. 1 and No. 2 is flowing at 14 MMcf/d of natural gas equivalent.
Oil and gas discoveries
- Apache Corp. reported two discoveries on South Timbalier 295. The wells recently came on production at a combined initial rate of 2.2 MMcf/d of gas and 1,848 b/d of oil. The wells were sidetracked from an existing platform. Apache is drilling a third well at the same location.
- Apache also added six development wells in which it has a 100% working interest on its West Delta 103 and 105 blocks. Two are producing at a combined rate of 2 MMcf/d of gas and 278 b/d; four others are expected to flow at a combined rate of 2.4 MMcf/d of gas and 1,900 b/d.
- BP and Texaco said their Blind Faith discovery well found oil in 7,000 ft water depth. Located in Mississippi Canyon 696, the well was drilled by Diamond Offshore's dynamically positioned semisubmersible drilling rig Ocean Confidence. The contents of the reservoir, located 20 miles east of BP's Crazy Horse find, were not disclosed. BP has 77.5% and Texaco has 22.5%.
- Murphy Oil Corp. reported successful drilling results on its Front Runner South prospect in Green Canyon Block 339. The discovery well was drilled to a total depth of 21,359 ft and encountered over 400 net ft of hydrocarbons in two zones. The reserve estimate is now expected to exceed the pre-drill projection of 40-60 million BOE. Several appraisal options for Front Runner South are being evaluated. Operator Murphy has 37.5% interest, Dominion has 37.5%, and Spinnaker Exploration has 25%.
- Mariner Energy and Agip Petroleum reported a find at the Yosemite prospect in Green Canyon 516. The discovery well, drilled in 3,900 ft water depth, encountered multiple hydrocarbon bearing zones. The well was suspended temporarily after casing was run. Operator Mariner holds 44%, Agip holds 50%, and Noble Drilling holds 6%.
- Remington Oil & Gas Corp. reported a discovery at South Marsh Island 93, 140 miles southwest of New Orleans in 153 ft water depth. Production casing has been set, and a caisson structure is being installed. After this well is completed and flow tested, additional drilling is expected to follow to locate and size the production facilities for the discovery. Operator Remington has 57.5%, Magnum Hunter has 30%, and Wiser Oil Co. has 12.5%.
- Remington Oil & Gas Corp. said exploratory drilling continues toward a 12,524 ft total depth at the East Cameron 184 No. 1 well. Once the well has been drilled to total depth, a caisson structure will be installed with follow-up drilling expected in late 3Q 2001. East Cameron 184 is 161 miles southwest of New Orleans in 90 ft water depth. Operator Remington has 57.5%, Magnum Hunter has 30%, and Wiser Oil has 12.5%.
