E&P Highlights: May 20, 2024

Activity headlines

Serica receives approval for Belinda Field

Serica Energy Plc., a British independent upstream oil and gas company, received final approval from the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) to develop the 100% owned and operated Belinda Field on May 20.

Located in the North Sea in Block 21/30f about 3 miles southeast of the Triton FPSO, the field is being developed as a single-well tieback. The field will be tied back to the Triton FPSO following the drilling of the development well scheduled for first half 2025.

Proven and probable reserves in the Belinda Field are estimated at about 5 MMboe. Production is scheduled to commence in first-quarter 2026, following the tieback work to the Triton FPSO.

The Belinda well is the fifth well in Serica’s Triton area drilling campaign, which commenced in April this year using the COSLInnovator drilling rig. The wells are designed to enhance production via the Triton FPSO.

FPSO Atlanta on site, anchoring operation begins

The FPSO Atlanta has begun anchoring activities at the Atlanta Field offshore Brazil, Enauta Participações SA said on May 16.

The FPSO Atlanta, which arrived at the field on May 11, has the capacity to process 50,000 bbl/d of oil, 140,000 bbl/d of water and has storage capacity 1.6 MMbbl.

Activities on the FPSO are progressing to reach first oil by August. The vessel will be anchored with 20 mooring lines. Each mooring line is over 1.5 miles long for a combined mooring length of approximately 30 miles, Enauta said earlier. The unit is chartered and operated by Yinson.

Contracts and company news

Hunting secures $145MM OCTG order

Global engineering group Hunting Plc. secured a $145 million oil country tubular goods (OCTG) order from Kuwait Oil Co., Hunting said on May 15.

Including the new order, the Hunting sales order book has increased to $665 million. The order is the largest in Hunting’s history and brings its project backlog to the biggest in company history, CEO Jim Johnson said in a press release.

The order comprises a large quantity of OCTG casing to be supplied by Hunting via its OCTG supply chain in the Asia Pacific. The casing will be threaded with Hunting's SEAL-LOCK premium connection technology at its facilities across the region.

Hunting now expects EBITDA to be towards the top end of its current guidance of $125 million to $135 million for 2024. Revenue is expected to be recognized from late in the fourth quarter and into 2025.

Diamond Offshore, Anadarko agree to drillship extension

On May 15, Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. and Anadarko Petroleum agreed to a two-year contract extension for the Ocean BlackHawk in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The contract will begin in November 2024 in direct continuation of the current rig contract.

The contract extension represents approximately $350 million of additional backlog, bringing the total contract backlog to a total of $2.1 billion, Diamond CEO Bernie Wolfrod Jr. said in a press release. The contract also excludes any managed pressure drilling services and replaces the one-year priced option that was agreed in May 2023. Anadarko will retain three one-year unpriced options.

Equinor and Petoro agree to value-neutral asset swap

Equinor and Petoro agreed to a value-neutral asset swap in the Haltenbanken area, Equinor said on May 14. Equinor will increase its ownership in the Heidrun Field and Noatun discovery, while reducing its ownership in the Tyrihans and Castberg fields, as well as the Carmen and Beta discoveries.

Heidrun and Tyrihans are two of the largest producing fields in the Halten area in the Norwegian Sea. Currently, Equinor holds a 13% equity interest in the Heidrun Field and a 58.8% interest in the Tyrihans Field. Petoro has an equity interest of 57.8% in Heidrun and holds no equity in Tyrihans.

Following the completion of the transaction, Equinor will own 34.4% in Heidrun and 36.3% in Tyrihans, while Petoro will own 36.4% in Heidrun and 22.5% in Tyrihans. Equinor ownership of Johan Castberg will be 46.3%.

The effective date of the agreement is Jan. 1, 2025. The agreement is subject to both regulatory approval and approval by the Norwegian Parliament.

ABL Group to buy Ross Offshore

Global consultant ABL Group will buy 100% of the shares of energy consultancy Ross Offshore from Moreld Group, ABL announced May 15.

Following completion of the transaction, Ross Offshore will merge with ABL Group company AGR, further strengthening the group's technical ability in wells, reservoir operations and other consultancy services.

The transaction, which is subject to approval by the Norwegian competition authority, is expected to be completed in the late second or early third quarter of 2024.

Expro completes acquisition of Coretrax

Energy services provider Expro completed its acquisition of U.K.-based drilling services company Coretrax, the company announced in a May 15 press release.

The acquisition of Coretrax, by an investment group led by Buckthorn Partners, will enable Expro to expand its portfolio of well construction and well intervention & integrity solutions. The acquisition will also strengthen Expro's business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and open new avenues for growth in North and Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region, Michael Jardon, Expro CEO, said in a press release.

The transaction closed May 1. Total consideration paid at closing was $75 million in cash and 6.75 million newly issued Expro common shares.

Wells Fargo Securities LLC served as financial adviser to Expro and CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP is acting as legal counsel on the transaction. Evercore is serving as financial adviser to Coretrax and Blackwoods is acting as legal counsel. Sidley Austin acted as legal counsel to Buckthorn Partners on the transaction.