EUROPE

Petroceltic ties back well offshore Bulgaria

Petroceltic International Plc announced in a press release the successful tieback of a new production well in the Kaliakra gas field offshore Bulgaria. The well was completed with a subsea wellhead and connected to the existing Kaliakra pipeline for export via the Galata platform. The new well has been flow-tested at rates in excess of 340 Mcm/d (12 MMcf/d) and is currently being produced through the Galata facilities, which are shared with the Galata and Kavarna fields. Once the production from the three fields has been rebalanced, the combined rate is expected to stabilize at around 850 Mcm/d (30 MMcf/d), according to the press release. Petroceltic holds a 100% working interest in the fields and associated infrastructure.

Lundin makes oil discovery at Johan Sverdrup well

Lundin Petroleum AB, through its wholly owned subsidiary Lundin Norway AS, announced in a press release that Johan Sverdrup appraisal well 16/5-4, located in the southwestern part of PL501 in the North Sea, found an oil column of approximately 6 m (20 ft) in excellent-quality sandstone of Upper Jurassic age. The well has been successfully completed. The well was drilled to a total depth of 2,075 m (6,808 ft) below mean sea level into Triassic sediments. A comprehensive coring and logging program has been successfully completed, and the well has been permanently abandoned. Lundin Norway is operator of PL501 with a 40% interest. Partners are Statoil Petroleum AS (40%) and Maersk Oil Norway AS (20%).

ASIA-PACIFIC

CNOOC, Smart Oil agree to Bohai PSC

China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) announced in a press release that it has signed a production-sharing contract (PSC) with Smart Oil Investment Ltd. for Block 05/31 in Bohai Bay offshore China. Block 05/31 is located in the junction of Qikou Sag and Nanpu Sag in the west of Bohai. It covers a total area of 270 sq km (104 sq miles) with a water depth ranging from 5 m to 15 m (16 ft to 49 ft). According to the terms of the PSC, Smart Oil will conduct a 3-D seismic survey and drill exploration wells in the block during the exploration period, in which all expenditures incurred will be borne by Smart Oil. CNOOC has the right to participate in up to a 51% working interest in any commercial discoveries in the block, according to the press release.

RH Petrogas completes drilling at Indonesian well

RH Petrogas Ltd. announced in a press release that its subsidiaries have completed drilling the Klalin-14 development well in the Kepala Burung PSC located in the West Papua region of Indonesia. RHP has an aggregate 60% working interest in the PSC held through its wholly owned subsidiaries Petrogas (Basin) Ltd. and RHP Salawati Basin BV. The well encountered 25 m (81 ft) of total net pay and tested production rates of 277.5 Mcm/d (9.8 MMcf/d) of natural gas and 200 b/d of condensate on a 24/ 64 -in. choke from two zones. Depending on the gas demand, the well is expected to produce 85 Mcm/d (3 MMcf/d) of gas and 150 b/d of condensate once production begins in the near future.

MIDDLE EAST

DNO tests exploration well in Kurdistan

DNO International ASA announced in a press release that it has commenced testing of the Tawke-23 exploration well in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. The well is the second horizontal well drilled by the company in the Tawke field and has encountered continuous oil shows within a 930-m (3,051-ft) horizontal section in the main Cretaceous reservoir. The test program will focus on 10 fracture zones with production potential. The company’s first horizontal well in the field, Tawke-20, tested 8,000 b/d from each of 10 producing intervals in the Cretaceous reservoir and is currently onstream at an average rate of 25,000 b/d. Also currently drilling in Kurdistan are the Tawke-21 and Tawke-22 horizontal development wells and the highly deviated Benenan-4 well in the Erbil license.

NORTH AMERICA

Statoil confirms Bay du Nord reserves estimate

Estimates for the latest discovery by Statoil Canada and its partner Husky Energy offshore Canada put recoverable oil reserves at between 300 MMbbl and 600 MMbbl, Statoil said in a press release. The Bay du Nord find, located in the Flemish Pass basin approximately 500 km (311 miles) northeast of St. John’s, Newfoundland, has now had a sidetrack well completed. The well confirmed a high-impact discovery, which for Statoil means a find with recoverable reserves estimated to be greater than 100 MMboe net or greater than 250 MMboe in total. The Bay du Nord well encountered light oil of 34°API and excellent Jurassic reservoirs with high porosity and high permeability. Statoil operates the Bay du Nord and nearby Mizzen and Harpoon finds with a 65% interest, with Husky Energy holding the remaining 35%.

Questerre begins production at Manitoba wells

Questerre Energy Corp. drilled and completed five oil wells in Pierson, Manitoba, adjacent to its existing production in Antler, Saskatchewan, the company said in a press release. The five-well program targeted the Spearfish formation and was conducted by the operator early in the third quarter. The wells were drilled as short-radius horizontals and completed with 16-stage fractures. Questerre holds a 35% interest in all five wells. During the first three days the wells produced at gross rates of more than 1,000 b/d of oil or 350 b/d net to Questerre’s interest. Production during the first 30 days is expected to be approximately 700 b/d or approximately 240 bbl net to Questerre.

GULF OF MEXICO

Subsea 7 clinches Cardona contract in GoM

Subsea 7 has been awarded a subsea contract valued at more than US $70 million for a deepwater field development operated by Stone Energy in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). The contractor said in a press release it had won a contract to carry out the engineering, procurement, installation, and commissioning of flowlines, risers, pipeline structures, and a gas-lift umbilical for the Cardona field. Project management and engineering work will begin immediately at Subsea 7’s offices in Houston. Offshore operations are set to get under way in 3Q 2014, with stalking of the risers and flowlines and welding to be performed at the company’s Port Isabel, Texas, spoolbase.

Noble hits gas at Troubadour

Noble Energy Inc. announced in a press release a discovery at the Troubadour exploration prospect in the deepwater GoM. The well, situated in Noble Energy’s Big Bend/Troubadour Rio Grande area, is located in 2,217 m (7,273 ft) of water on Mississippi Canyon Block 699 and was drilled to a total depth of 5,947 m (19,510 ft), according to the press release. Reservoir and fluid measurement logs identified approximately 15 m (50 ft) of net natural gas pay in a high-quality Miocene reservoir. Discovered gross resources in the area are estimated to be between 50 MMboe and 100 MMboe, with 75% representing new oil volumes. The Troubadour discovery well is being temporarily abandoned for future development. Noble operates Big Bend with a 54% participating interest and Troubadour with 60%. Big Bend partners include Red Willow Offshore LLC (15.4%); Houston Energy Deepwater Ventures V LLC (10.6%); and W&T Energy VI LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of W&T Offshore Inc. (20%). W&T Energy and Deep Gulf Energy II LLC participate in Troubadour with 20% each.

AFRICA

Total farms into block offshore South Africa

Total announced in a press release that after receiving approval from South African authorities it has completed the acquisition of a 50% interest in Block 11B/12B from CNR International (South Africa) Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. The asset is located in the Outeniqua basin approximately 175 km (109 miles) off the southern coast of South Africa and covers an area of 19,000 sq km (7,336 sq miles) with water depths ranging from 200 m to 1,800 m (656 ft to 5,906 ft). Total also becomes operator of Block 11B/12B and will drill an exploration well on the block in 2014.

Eni, SNPC team up to explore Ngolo block

Eni and Soci?t? Nationale des P?troles du Congo (SNPC) will jointly explore the hydrocarbon potential of the Ngolo block, which is part of the Cuvette basin in the Republic of Congo, Eni said in a press release. The block is located approximately 350 km (217 miles) northeast of Brazzaville and covers an area of more than 16,000 sq km (6,178 sq miles). Eni, through its company Eni Congo, will participate as operator in the joint venture with SNPC for the exploration of the block. Exploration activities will take place over a period of 10 years and will target the Mesozoic and Paleozoic sedimentary geological sequences.

SOUTH AMERICA

Technip, Petrobras sign agreement for Campos basin

Technip signed a four-year frame agreement with Petrobras for project modification services for the Rio de Janeiro operations unit, including existing offshore platforms located in Brazil’s Campos basin area, Technip said in a press release. The services comprise basic and detailed design, documentation update, engineering consulting, planning, control, and execution supplies for 13 offshore platforms. Technip was previously awarded contracts on some of these projects, most notably designing and constructing the topsides of three of Petrobras’ deepwater production semis – P-51, P-52, and P-56 – the largest topsides floatovers onto semihulls in the world. Technip’s operating center in Rio de Janeiro will carry out the project management, engineering, and procurement.

Phase 2 production begins at Parque das Conchas

Shell and its partners have started Phase 2 production of the Parque das Conchas (BC-10) project located off Brazil’s southeast coast, Shell said in a press release. The BC-10 project – in which Shell owns a 50% interest, Petrobras 35%, and ONGC 15% – is comprised of several subsea fields that are tied back to the Espirito Santo FPSO vessel. In 2009 the first phase of the project began production when the Abalon and Ostra fields were connected along with the Argonauta B-West reservoir. Phase 2 connected a fourth reservoir to the vessel, the Argonauta O-North. At its peak Phase 2 is expected to produce approximately 35,000 boe/d. A 4-D life-of-field seismic monitoring system was installed as part of Phase 2 subsea development, representing the deepest installation of its kind on a full-field scale in the world at approximately 1,800 m (6,000 ft).