North America
Cenovus and Suncor Energy have reached agreement on reactivating two suspended projects in the Jeanne d’Arc basin offshore Newfoundland. Cenovus will re-evaluate the platform-based White Rose development which it halted last year when oil prices tumbled. If the economics warrant a resumption, Suncor would raise its stake in the field by 12.5% and assume proportional capital commitments, with no major capex expected prior to 2023.
As for Terra Nova, following the exit of four companies from the joint venture, Suncor as operator, Cenovus and Murphy Oil will be the remaining equity holders, and have committed to proceed with a project extending the field’s life to 2033, producing an additional 70 MMbbl. The government of Newfoundland and Labrador is set to provide financial assistance to support associated offshore and onshore work. Following a maintenance program at the Bull Arm yard in Newfoundland, the Terra Nova FPSO was due to sail to Ferrol in northwest Spain for drydocking before returning to re-start operations at the field before the end of next year.
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Shell Offshore and partner Chevron have committed to the 490-MMboe Whale development in Alaminos Canyon block 773 in the US Gulf of Mexico, 322 km (200 mi) southwest of Houston. The planned semisubmersible platform with 15 oil production wells will be moored in 2,621 m (8,600 ft) of water, and will be a similar design to the four-column semi for Shell’s Vito development in the greater Mars corridor, due to come onstream in 2022. Whale’s platform, which at peak will produce around 100,000 boe/d, should start operations in 2024.
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Eni has proven a second oilfield in block 10 in the Cuencan Salina Sureste basin offshore Mexico. The semisubmersible Valaris 8505 drilled the Sayulita-1 EXP well 15 km (9.3 mi) from the breakthrough Saasken discovery, encountering oil in Upper Miocene reservoirs. Resources could be in the range 150-200 MMboe.
Caribbean Sea/South America
Matapal, bp Trinidad and Tobago’s second subsea development, has produced first gas. The field is being developed via three wells and two flexible flowlines tied back 8 km (5 mi) to the Juniper platform, 80 km (50 mi) offshore southeast Trinidad in 163 m (535 ft) of water. Matapal will supply gas from the 2017 discovery Savannah to the local domestic market, with production eventually reaching up to 350 MMcf/d.
Shell has started gas production from the Block 5C Project Barracuda in Trinidad and Tobago’s East Coast Marine Area. This was the company’s first greenfield development in T&T, which at peak will deliver around 40,000 boe/d of gas and feedstock for Atlantic LNG.
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ExxonMobil and its partners have achieved a 20th commercial discovery on the Stabroek block offshore Guyana. The Pinktail well, drilled by the drillship Noble Sam Croft in 1,810 m (5,938 ft) of water, 6 km (3.7 mi) southeast of Yellowtail-1, delivered 67 m (220 ft) of net pay from an oil-bearing sandstone reservoir. The partners now plan a fourth FPSO-based development focused on the Yellowtail and Redtail fields, 31 km (19 mi) southeast of Liza, coming onstream in 2025. Liza Phase 2’s FPSO Liza Unity sailed recently from Keppel Shipyard in Singapore and should be ready to start operations at the offshore location in early 2022.
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SBM Offshore, which supplied the Liza Unity, has a letter of intent from Petrobras for the 22.5-year charter of a fourth FPSO for the Mero field in the Libra area of the presalt Santos basin, offshore Brazil. Alexandre de Gusmão will be spread-moored in 1,900 m (6,233 ft) of water, 160 km (99.4 mi) offshore Arraial do Cabo, with capacity to process 180,000 b/d of oil and 12 MMcf/d of gas. Petrobras plans eight oil producer wells, six water and gas injectors, and a further producer/gas injector, connected to the FPSO via rigid subsea production and injection lines and flexible service lines. Production should start in 2025. SBM has also secured a 26¼-year lease and operation contract from Petrobras for Almirante Tamandaré, the sixth planned floater for the Búzios field in the same basin.
Africa
Eni has discovered a potentially giant oil and gas resource in deepwater block CI-101, 60 km (37 mi) offshore Côte d’Ivoire. The drillship Saipem 10000 drilled the Baleine-1x well in 1,200 m (3,937 ft) of water, encountering light oil in Santonian and Cenomanian/Albian intervals. Eni estimates in-place reserves at 1.5-2 Bbbl of oil and 1.8-2.4 tcf of gas, and believes the structure could extend into its adjoining block CI-802.
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Shell is working on the sale of operated interests in the Niger Delta and adjacent shallow-water areas in Nigeria held by Shell Petroleum Development Co. The package includes over 1,000 producing wells that are said to account for 39% of Nigeria’s overall production.
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VAALCO Energy has secured partner approval for an FSO at the Etame Marin oilfield offshore Gabon, to be supplied and operated by World Carrier Offshore Services following the expiry of the field’s current FPSO contract in September 2022. Switching to the Cap Diamant, a double-hull crude tanker built in 2001 which will undergo conversion, should reduce storage and offloading costs at Etame Marin by almost 50%, and opex costs by up to 20% through 2030.
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Eni has produced first oil from the Cuica field, discovered earlier this year in 500 m (1,640 ft) of water in block 15/06 offshore Angola. Cuica, located 3 km (2 mi) from the FPSO Armada Olombendo, is under development via an oil producer well and a water injector, both connected to the Cabaça North subsea production system.
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An unnamed major has contracted Aquaterra Energy to deliver multiple Sea Swift platforms for developments in northern Angola’s offshore Cabinda province. Work has started on the first platform which will be designed to operate over a 20-year period in a water depth of 75 m (246 ft).
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Shell has taken a 50% operated stake from Impact Africa in the Transkei & Algoa exploration right offshore eastern South Africa. The two companies plan to acquire 6,000 sq km (3,728 sq mi) of 3D seismic over the concession in 2022.
Northwest Europe
Norway’s government has authorized Equinor to raise gas production by 1 bcm/yr at both the Troll and Oseberg fields in the North Sea, in response to Europe’s tightening gas market. Some of the supply issues should be eased by the recently onstream, $924-million Troll Phase 3 development, which involves drilling eight new wells connected via two templates and a 36-in. pipeline to the Troll A platform. The facilities will produce up to 347 bcm from the Troll West gas cap.
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Aker BP has issued first FEED contracts for the multi-field NOA Fulla development in the northern Norwegian North Sea, comprising the southern portion of the 500-MMboe NOAKA area project: Equinor operates the proposed Krafla development to the north. The southern facilities will include a fixed process, drilling and quarters platform weighing up to 39,000 metric tons (43,000 tons) on NOA; a 6,500-metric ton (7,165-ton) normally unmanned wellhead platform on Froy; and three subsea templates for the Fulla, Langfjellet, and Rind fields. Oil will be exported via the Oseberg Transport System and gas via Statpipe.
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Heerema’s semisubmersible crane vessels Sleipnir and Thialf have worked together for the first time in the North Sea to remove the Brae B platform in the central UK North Sea, operated by TAQA. The program called for two campaigns, also involving removal of various other modules, subsequently transported to the AFOD Environmental Base in Vats, Norway, for dismantling.
Asia/Pacific
Sarawak Shell and partners Petronas Carigali and Brunei Energy Exploration are going ahead with the Timi gas development, 200 km (124 mi) offshore Sarawak. The unmanned wellhead platform will be powered by a hybrid solar/wind system, with two wells exporting up to 50,000 boe/d through a new 80-km (50-mi) pipeline to Shell’s F23 hub platform. Petronas has also appointed Sarawak Shell to lead the consortium exploring block SK437, a 2,015-sq km (778-sq mi) concession in water depths of up to 50 m (164 ft). This is Petronas’ first involvement in an offshore exploration production-sharing contract in Malaysia.
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McDermott International claims to have set two records in its recent platform transportation and installation campaign in the Nam Con Son basin offshore southern Vietnam. The program, commissioned by PetroVietnam Technical Services, covered delivery in two phases of the central processing platform serving Idemitsu’s Sao Vang and Dai Nguyet gas/condensate fields. During the first, the barge DB30 performed Vietnam’s heaviest jacket launch to date for the 12,600-metric ton (13,889-ton) jacket, in a water depth of 113.4 m (372 ft). In the second phase, the floatover installation of the 14,500-metric ton (15,983-ton) topsides established another weight record for a Vietnamese central processing platform.
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CNOOC has started production from three new oilfield developments in the Bohai Sea offshore eastern China, in water depths ranging from 21-32 m (69-105 ft). The largest in scope is Luda 6-2 in the Liadong Bay area, where a new platform is connected to process facilities serving the Suizhong 36-1 field. Luda 6-2 will eventually have 38 wells, with peak output of 10,000 b/d expected next year. In the same area, CNOOC commissioned a new wellhead platform with seven wells, linked to the Kuda 21-2/Luda 16-3 processing facilities. Another new, unmanned wellhead platform and a power platform are online at the Bozhong 26-3 oilfield expansion project in the southern Bohai Sea.
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Australasia
Santos and Timor-Leste’s regulator have entered a memorandum of understanding on a carbon capture and storage project at the Bayu-Undan gas-condensate field in the Timor Sea. This could lead to repurposing of some of the production facilities to adapt the reservoir for permanent storage of 10 MM metric tons/yr of CO2, and potentially create new jobs and revenue for Timor-Leste.
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Offshore Western Australia, Santos continues preparations for the Dorado oilfield development in the WA-437-P permit in the Bedout sub-basin, with FID targeted for mid-2022. Altera (ex-Teekay) has the FEED contract for the FPSO, which will be stationed in 95 m (312 ft) of water, 160 km (99.4 mi) north of Port Hedland. Initially Altera will perform definition engineering to confirm technical requirements for the vessel and its disconnectable mooring system. Atteris is working on the FEED for the subsea system that will connect Dorado’s wellhead platform to the FPSO, including flexible flowlines, dynamic risers and a mid-water arch.
