Offshore Europe
Jeremy Beckman • London
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Hydro triumphs in unexplored plays
Exploration drilling in Norway looks to have turned the corner, following a long barren period with few discoveries. Hydro recently announced three new finds in the North Sea, two of which could be commercial standouts.
First up was well 35/2-1, drilled by the Deepsea Trym on the Peon prospect in the north of the sector, in 385-m water depth. According to Hydro, the well intersected large quantities of gas in Pliocene sands in a previously under-explored area, and more importantly, the result verified a new exploration model. The company plans a follow-up test on the well next year.
A few days later, Hydro confirmed an oil and gas discovery on the Oseberg J-Central structure, which will be developed via a spare slot on a new subsea template linked to the Oseberg South platform. At the same time, a well drilled by theWest Venture 500 m beneath the Troll field’s Sognefjord and Fensfjord layers was unearthing oil in the previously unexplored Brent formation. The location is northeast of the Troll C platform. Hydro plans a follow-up production test.
Statoil was also testing a new play with a deepwater well on the Tulipan prospect in the Norwegian Sea. However, the result - a small gas find in Tertiary sandstone - was well below expectations. The well, drilled by theEirik Raude in 1,260 m of water, 130 km west of the Ormen Lange field, was terminated in late Cretaceous rocks 2,950 m below the seabed.
Better news for Statoil in the North Sea, where the current conversion of the Visund platform for gas exports will likely round out at Nkr1.75 billion, down Nkr500 million on the original estimate. The reduction is attributed to a slimmed-down design of the new gas modules, and a smoother than anticipated tie-in to the Kvitebjørn (export) pipeline.
Statoil also announced start-up of a well on the new ‘Q’ subsea template on Smørbukk South, linking the field to Åasgard in the Norwegian Sea. The company plans a further phase of development through this facility, its aim being to extract a further 40-50 MMbbl of oil and 7 bcm of gas from Smørbukk.
ConocoPhillips committed to North Sea
Output from ConocoPhillips’ North Sea assets yielded the company 470,000 boe/d last year, according to North Sea/West Africa Regional President Henry McGee. The North Sea also accounts for 20% of the company’s net proven reserves, and 30% of its global gas production. And it has attracted more of the company’s exploration capital this year than any other region, the program comprising three wildcats, six near-field wells and five appraisal wells.
During a brief presentation atOffshore Europein Aberdeen, McGee singled out three development projects that could boost those percentages further, namely Brodgar and Callanish in the UK sector (50,000 boe/d net); Clair Phase 2, due to be approved shortly (ConocoPhillips 26%); and Ekofisk Phase 3 in the Norwegian sector, where first oil was expected this month.
Following Conoco’s merger with Phillips, the company integrated its Norwegian and UK operations into a single business unit, one aim being to transfer best practice from one sector to another. McGee cited the company’s center of excellence for high pressure, high temperature well technology in Aberdeen, “We’d been drilling the same type of wells in Norway, but the results had not been as good, and the costs were higher.” On the other hand, well servicing on Ekofisk was superior to the performance of some of the UK North Sea projects. “Now, however, under our single leadership structure, the results have improved dramatically,” he said.
Ekofisk lies close to the median line with the UK, and the British/Norwegian governments have promoted cross-border field developments. Paladin and CNR have launched subsea projects, but McGee saw room for improvement in sharing of resources, including movement of drilling rigs across the two sectors. “At a time when the industry has heated up quite a bit, it’s tough with different regulations still applying in each country,” he said. He also called for synergies in the North Sea supply chain, instead of the current situation where different supplier bases prevail in the two countries.
ConocoPhillips also operates two new platform-based developments in the UK southern gas basin, Munro and Saturn, both of which came onstream in September. Saturn will tie in supplies from three separate accumulations initially, with the Tethys and Mimas prospects lined up for Phase 2. Production should peak at 170 MMcf/d.
This sector has sprung to life in recent weeks, with RWE-Dea gaining government sanction to develop Cavendish in block 43/19a, a 1989 Carboniferous gas discovery. The field contains an estimated 400 bcf, and will be exploited through a minimum facilities platform exporting through the Caister Murdoch trunkline system. Another operator new to the UK, Newfield Petroleum, plans to reuse ExxonMobil’s decommissioned Camelot CB platform on its Grove gasfield in block 49/10, tied back 14-km to a new riser platform on CH4’s Markham complex.
UK licensing draws more newcomers
Britain’s 23rd Oil and Gas Licensing Round led to 99 companies securing a total of 152 production licenses - the highest since the 4th Round of 1972. If all offers are accepted, there will be 24 new oil companies participating in E&P. At the time of the announcement atOffshore Europe, the awards included commitments to a total of 17 firm wells.
Among those companies commenting on their package, Esso Exploration and Production UK picked up 20 contiguous blocks in a little explored area known as the Mid North Sea High, 90 miles east of Newcastle, just below the border with Scotland. Esso will operate the blocks under a joint venture with Shell, the equity ratio being 75-25. Previously, the two companies have been 50-50 partners on the UK shelf.
Total and BG Group secured new blocks close to their core areas in the northern and central sectors. Aberdeen-based independent Reach Exploration gained interests in 16 blocks, including six in the near-shore area of the Inner Moray Firth, between Talisman’s Beatrice field and Scotland’s east coast. Reach and its co-venture Caithness Petroleum plan to develop two oil discoveries in this acreage via extended reach drilling from onshore locations, and explore further prospects in the area, again from land-based rigs.
Another independent, Hurricane Exploration, gained a Frontier license, in partnership with Sunshine Oil, comprising nine blocks between BP’s Clair and Foinaven/Schiehallion oilfields west of the Shetlands. Dong was awarded a large swathe of acreage between the Shetlands and the Faroe Islands, in partnership with Gaz de France and Dana Petroleum. And OMV won blocks in this area next to the Suilven and Rosebank/Lochnagar discoveries. DONG/OMV’s programs include extensive 2D seismic acquisition.•