Gene Kliewer • Houston
Latin America
Colombia. Ecopetrol, Colombia’s state-owned oil company, reports production reached a three-year high in May at 538,709 b/d of oil. Of that total, 156,962 b/d was from Ecopetrol and 381,747 b/d was from private operations. Production in Colombia has declined from a January 1999 high of 846,484 b/d oil.
Brazil. Petrobras continues to increase its spending plans. The state-run petroleum company now plans to invest more than $87 billion in the 2007-2011 span with a target of bringing production in 2015 to 4.55 MMboe/d.
While almost 90% of the total is earmarked for Brazil, some $12 billion is designated for projects outside the country. The foreign spending focus is said to be West Africa and the Gulf of Mexico.
According to Petrobras, the company currently has proven oil and natural gas reserves of 11 Bboe. Of that, 1.25 Bboe is from operations outside Brazil.
Peru. A joint venture between Plectrum Petroleum and Gold Oil Plc. has been signed covering exploration of block Z34 off Peru. The block encompasses 1,448 sq mi (3,713 sq km) in Talara basin. Water depths in adjacent blocks range from 300 ft to almost 10,000 ft (100 m to 3,000 m). Those blocks already produce oil and gas.
It is expected that the contract will be signed and approved by Perupetro within weeks, with formal approval by the Minister of Energy and Mines sometime later.
“This is excellent news for Plectrum in our new joint venture with Gold. I look forward to speedy negotiation of the contract terms so that we can become operationally active as soon as possible,” says Mike Evans, Plectrum’s COO.
Plectrum says plans include augmenting seismic data with magneto-telluric information-measuring passive electrical and magnetic signals from the Earth’s interaction with the Sun, which reportedly produce calculations of subsurface resistivity on the ocean floor. Additionally, Plectrum says electromagnetic data will be collected.
Plectrum will fund the initial seismic program in order to earn a 50% interest.
Europe
Ukraine. The Atwood Southern Cross, owned and operated by Atwood Oceanics Pacific Ltd., has a contract from Vanco International Ltd. to drill one well with an option to drill an additional well in the Black Sea off the coast of Ukraine.
The drilling of the first well is estimated to take around 40 days to complete and, if the option well is drilled, the program could extend another 40 days.
This contract will begin when the rig completing its current commitments in the Black Sea for Melrose Resources, Toreador Turkey Ltd., and Turkiye Petrolleri A.O. The Vanco contract may commence as early as August 2007 or as late as January 2008.
North Sea. In what could be a world first technical application, Aker Kvaerner has been awarded a contract for the subsea compression pilot for Ormen Lange. The project aims to evaluate whether a subsea compression station, at approximately 2,950 ft (900 m) water depth, is a viable alternative to an offshore platform.
Later in the production phase, boosting of the well stream will be required in order to maintain production of gas and condensate from the reservoir. The pilot is identical to one of four trains on the proposed full-scale subsea compression station.
Currently, Aker Kvaerner is constructing the onshore process facility for Ormen Lange at Nyhamna with nearly 5,000 people working in rotation. “By combining our subsea gas compression know-how with the extensive knowledge of the process facility at Nyhamna and our proven track record for executing projects, we are confident in the success of the Pilot,” says Aker Kvaerner.
Subject to the partners’ final approval, Aker Kvaerner’s scope of work comprises concept development, engineering, procurement, construction, and qualification of the subsea compression station pilot. The objective of the pilot project for Ormen Lange subsea compression is to perform a controlled endurance test from 2009 to 2011 at the Nyhamna onshore terminal.
The engineering phase already has begun out of Aker Kvaerner’s office in Oslo, Norway. The compact and modularized pilot will be constructed and assembled in Norway at Aker Kvaerner’s Egersund yard and will be ready for installation in January 2009. A purpose-built test pit for the compression pilot is being prepared at Nyhamna.
The pilot will be carried out as an integrated project using Aker Kvaerner’s project execution model, with resources from several Aker Kvaerner companies, including Subsea and Engineering & Technology. The contract partners are Aker Kvaerner Subsea AS and Hydro acting as operator on behalf of the Ormen Lange Group.
The contract includes an option for the partners to choose Aker Kvaerner to deliver the complete subsea compression station, a decision expected in late 2011.
In other North Sea production planning, Skinfaks and Rimfaks fields in the Tampen area of the North Sea will be combined into a subsea facility and tied to Gullfaks C platform, if work this summer follows schedule, says Statoil, operator.
The underwater tie-in to Gullfaks C requires shutdown of two central templates. A total of 26 subsea connections will be performed in an operation involving several vessels.
The vesselNormand Cutter has started removing existing pipe coils and replacing them with four new ones to connect a tie-in manifold to the existing subsea facility. This work is by Saipem UK.
Installation of four pipelines is scheduled for July with control cable installation to follow. Work on the 26 subsea connections is scheduled for completion in autumn. Rimfaks is scheduled to come on stream in December 2006. The licensees are Statoil, 61%; Petoro, 30%; and Hydro, 9%.
Celtic Sea. A 2-D seismic program is set to begin in July on the Dunquin gas condensate prospect in the Celtic Sea offshore Ireland, according to Providence Resources Plc.
The prospect is in Porcupine basin, 200 mi off the west coast of Ireland. Providence is the operator with 16%, ExxonMobil holds 80%, and Sosina has 4%.
Black Sea. Installation of the first production tripod in the South Akcakoca sub-basin offshore Turkey in the Black Sea should be complete, says Toreador and partners, TPAO (Turkish national oil company) and Stratic Energy Corp. The tripod, which is the first in a series of three Phase I production facilities, is on the Akkaya structure. The Saturn jackup is setting the tripod and will connect it to the Akkaya wells before it is released.
Africa
Tunisia. First production from the Oudna field offshore Tunisia is scheduled for September 2006, says Lundin Petroleum and Atlantis Holding Norway AS, a subsidiary of Sinochem E&P.
Initial production is anticipated to be 20,000 b/d of oil. Proven and probable reserves are cited at 11.5 MMbbl of oil.
The Oudna 1 well, discovered by Shell, tested 7,000 b/d of oil at a depth of 5,250 ft (1,600 m) from the Miocene Lower Birsa sands. The crude oil has a 41.5 °API and sulfur content of 0.24 %.
Lundin Petroleum and Atlantis Holding Norway AS each hold 50% of Oudna. Lundin is the operator. The Tunisian state company ETAP has a 20% purchase option that may be exercised up to 120 days from the commencement of production.
Gabon. The FirstAfrica Oil EOV-4 sidetrack in East Orovinyare oil field ran into mechanical problems and could not be tested. Another test was drilled 650 ft (200 m) south of EOV-4 from GlobalSantaFe’s Adriatic VI jack-up.
The oil-bearing Batanga reservoir was reached at 3,840 ft (1,700 m) total depth. The reservoir was logged and preliminary analysis indicates a gross oil reservoir section of 280 ft (85 m). In a drill stem test, oil flowed through a 160-ft slotted liner at a rate of 1,704 b/d. The gravity of the oil was 38° API.
Nigeria. Peak Petroleum Industries Nigeria Ltd. and Equator Exploration Ltd. signed a letter of intent with Bergesen Worldwide Offshore Ltd. to negotiate an agreement for an FPSO to serve the Bilabri field, offshore Nigeria.
Bilabri is in block OML 122 and Bergesen will use the FPSOBW Endeavor following a general upgrade. Contract terms are for lease and operation of the FPSO for five years with an option for another five years.
Production at Bilabri is scheduled to begin in mid-2007 at an estimated 30,000 b/d of oil.
Cameroon. Noble Energy Cameroon Ltd. acquired a 50% interest in PH 77 offshore Republic of Cameroon from ConocoPhillips.
“Our acquisition of ConocoPhillips’ interest in PH 77 significantly enhances our West Africa exploration portfolio and will allow us to leverage the knowledge we have gained in blocks O and I in Equatorial Guinea,” says Charles Davidson, Noble’s chairman, president and CEO.
“With our recent discovery in block O and an earlier oil test on PH 77, we see our acreage in the Gulf of Guinea as highly prospective.”
He also says that as operator of the block, Noble extended its deepwater drillship contract.
PH 77 covers 1.1 million acres between the coast of Cameroon and its boundary with Equatorial Guinea, and is contiguous with blocks O and I offshore Bioko Island.
Asia/Pacific
Australia. A contract for a turret mooring system for an FPSO slated for the Stybarrow field, offshore northwest Australia, has been awarded by Modec Inc. to FMC Technologies Inc.
TheStybarrow FPSO, operated by BHP Billiton, will be capable of receiving up to 80,000 b/d of oil and storing approximately 900,000 bbl of oil. The disconnectable internal turret mooring system will have 12 risers and umbilicals that will be installed in 2,706 ft (825 m) of water.
“FMC Technologies is pleased to be working with Modec and BHP Billiton,” says Peter Kinnear, president, FMC Technologies. “This will be the third Sofec mooring system installed in Australia and the twenty-first FPSO/FSO project completed jointly by FMC Technologies and Modec.”
On Australia’s Basker-Manta project, Anzon Australia says the third phase has begun with the release ofOcean Patriot following the drilling of four appraisal wells. Phase three consists of upgrades to the FPSO Crystal Ocean and crude oil shuttle tanker Basker Spirit in Singapore.
While the upgrades are being made, installation of the electro-hydraulic umbilicals and production flowlines along with the subsea production manifold will be under way to connect the five Basker-Manta wells to the FPSO.
Anzon says the facilities presently being installed on theCrystal Ocean and the enhancement of the bow loading system of the Basker Spirit will enable production of 25,000 b/d of oil, higher than originally predicted. Pending the formal sanction of a gas project, the facilities have been designed to reinject gas produced with the oil.
China. China National Offshore Oil Co. Ltd. made an oil and gas discovery in 30 m water in the Liaodong Bay. The discovery was from independent wildcat Luda (LD) 6-2-1, which was drilled to a total depth of 2,395 m, said Cnooc on July 10. The well flowed about 620 bbl of oil and 240,000 cu ft of gas per day via 7.14 mm choke during the drill stem test, it said.
“We’re optimistic about our exploration in Bohai Bay in 2006. Several new discoveries have been made up to now, including LD 6-2, BZ29-4 and BZ28-2S. These new discoveries will further enlarge our reserve base in Bohai Bay,” said Cnooc VP and GM for Exploration, Zhu Weilin.
Indonesia. Indonesian operators expect to take delivery of three FPSOs and four to five FSOs through 2009 to support new field development programs, according to Yogi Prayogi, head of shipping and maritime at Bpmigas, the government executive agency for upstream oil and gas business.
The FPSOs would be mostly for marginal field development, one of which, FPSOBrotojoyo, would be towed to the Salawati field off Irian Jaya/Papua. The unit will handle about 28,000 b/d of production with storage capacity of 400,000 bbl. It would be producing for the Pertamina-PetroChina JOB contract for about five years from the TBA section of the Salawati field, and then would move to the TBC section of the field for another five years.
