In its second exploration bid round, the Brazilian government put 23 oil and gas concessions up for auction. An array of companies-ranging from major integrated oils to small and independent North American, European and Brazilian firms-offered winning bids totaling $261 million for 21 of the offered tracts. The proceeds of the June 2000 sale were more than 40% higher than the $183 million the Agencia Nacional do Petroleo received in its first round, held in June 1999. In that sale, companies bid $181 million for 12 of the 27 concessions offered by the ANP. Blocks in the Santos Basin drew the high bids in Round 2, especially blocks near Petrobras' recent 700-million-barrel discovery. Petrobras, British Gas and Repsol-YPF bid $64.9 million for BM-S-9, and Petrobras, Chevron and British Gas bid $56.9 million for BM-S-10. Three other Santos Basin blocks were awarded: BM-S-7 was won by Chevron and Petrobras for $37.7 million; BM-S-8 went to Petrobras, Shell and Petrogal for $28.7 million; and BM-S-11 to Petrobras, BG and Petrogal for $8.4 million. Other coveted blocks were in the Campos Basin, where Shell took BM-C-10 for $36.4 million. The second round also included smaller blocks intended to appeal to midsize and small oil companies, and certain contract changes were aimed at encouraging those bidders. The strategy was successful, as only two blocks failed to draw bids. -Peggy Williams 1 Canada Forest Oil Corp. has entered into an agreement with Shell Canada Ltd. to jointly explore and develop a 162-square-mile area of the southern Foothills. Forest will have a 40% working interest in the Shell-operated joint venture, near Waterton, Alberta. Forest anticipates it will spend $10- to 15 million in 2000 and 2001. The partners are acquiring a 100-square-mile, 3-D seismic survey, and they plan to drill a horizontal reentry well at 7-3-6-3W5. An exploratory well will be drilled in 2001. 2 Trinidad Australian firm Broken Hill Proprietary Co. reports a second successful offshore natural gas discovery. The Aripo-1 exploration well, drilled in 30 meters of water on Exploration Block 2(c) off Trinidad's east coast, flowed gas at the rate of 21.6 million cu. ft. per day. The Aripo-1 discovery follows the successful Angostura-1 well, drilled on the same block about 4 kilometers away. BHP operates and has a 45% stake in Block 2(c); Elf Petroleum Trinidad BV, 30%; and Talisman Energy Inc., 25%. BHP is planning another wildcat on adjacent Block 2(ab), in which it and Talisman each hold 50% interests. 3 Colombia Calgary-based Canadian Occidental Petroleum Ltd. says it has confirmed the presence of a major oil and gas accumulation in the Boqueron Block in the Upper Magdalena Basin. The Guando-2 appraisal well, 2.3 kilometers southwest and 730 ft. downdip of the Guando-1 discovery well, was drilled to a total depth of 3,529 ft. The Guando-1 contained 506 ft. of net natural gas pay and 510 ft. of net oil pay, while Guando-2 encountered 485 ft. of net oil pay. CanOxy estimates original oil-in-place of at least 1.4 billion bbl. at the prospect. Petrobras operates the Boqueron Block, and CanOxy holds a 40% working interest. The partners plan a 3-D seismic program and up to eight additional appraisal wells during the balance of 2000. 4 United Kingdom Enterprise Oil Plc says that it has completed a successful appraisal well at Corrib Field, in Block 18/20 offshore County Mayo on Ireland's west coast. The appraisal well, drilled in water depths of 350 meters, tested at rates of up to 60 million cu. ft. of gas a day. Enterprise discovered Corrib in 1996, but was unable to test its initial well due to mechanical problems. In 1998, the company completed a second well flowing 63 million cu. ft. of gas per day. Enterprise operates and holds 45% of Corrib Field; Statoil, 36.5%; and Marathon Oil, 18.5%. The partners plan to drill an additional well on the field this summer. 5 Tunisia Houston independent Nuevo Energy Co. has taken interests in two Tunisian permits, one offshore and one onshore. The 171,000-acre Alyane Permit, in Gulf of Gabes, lies within the nummulite limestone trend that hosts many of the largest fields in Tunisia and Libya. The company will operate and hold a 100% interest in the block. During the initial four-year term of the concession, Nuevo will shoot 3-D seismic and drill at least one exploratory well. The company also acquired a 10.42% interest from Bligh Tunisia Inc. in the 1.1-million-acre Anaguid Permit, in southern Tunisia in the Ghadames Basin. Operated by Anadarko Petroleum Co., the Anaguid permit lies on trend with Anadarko's Hassi Berkine discoveries in Algeria. 6 Nigeria Texaco Inc.>, Petrobras and <$iFamfa Oil Ltd.> report the first test at their offshore Ikija-1 wildcat on OPL 216 found 240 net ft. of oil and gas in multiple zones between 11,000 ft. and 15,750 ft. The oil field, which lies in water depths of 6,066 ft., is close to Texaco's giant Agbami discovery. Texaco holds an 80% contractor's interest in OPL 216; Petrobras holds the remaining 20% contractor's interest. Also in Nigeria, Hart's Africa Oil and Gas reports that TotalFina Elf has apparently made a world-class discovery in OPL 246. The Akpo-I encountered about 900 meters of gross hydrocarbon sands in six horizons. 7 Congo TotalFina Elf says that it has made its first deep offshore discovery in its Mer Tres Profond Sud permit in the Republic of Congo. The Andromede Marine-1 flowed at the rate of 7,000 bbl. of oil per day. The permit covers an area of 5,000 square kilometers in water depths between 1,500 and 3,000 meters. TotalFina Elf operates the permit and holds a 40% working interest; Agip, 30%; and Exxon Mobil Corp., 30%. 8 Angola BP Amoco has made its third discovery on offshore Block 18. The Galio 1, drilled in 1,238 meters of water, tested 34-degree-gravity oil at the rate of 4,770 bbl. per day. The Galio find joins the 1999 discoveries Platina and Plutonio, also on Block 18. Platina was drilled in 1,400 meters of water and tested 6,500 bbl. of oil per day; Plutonio was drilled in 1,362 meters of water and tested 5,700 bbl. of oil per day. BP operates the block and holds a 50% working interest, and Shell Development Angola holds the remaining 50%. Also in Angola, Exxon Mobil Corp. has made a seventh find on Block 15. The 8,200-ft. discovery well for Mondo Field, drilled in 2,400 ft. of water, flowed at a test rate of 4,200 bbl. of oil per day. Exxon Mobil operates the concession and holds a 40% interest; Agip Angola Exploration, 20%; BP Amoco, 26.67%; and Statoil, 13.33%. 9 Israel Ardmore, Okla.-based Noble Affiliates Inc. says that it has successfully appraised the southern extension of Noa Field, offshore Israel. The Noa South #1 well was drilled in 2,430 ft. of water, some 2.2 miles south of the initial discovery well Noa #1 and 8 miles west of Mari-B Field. The Noa South #1 encountered 114 ft. of gas-bearing sands. Based on log evaluation and other well data, it will be capable of flowing at rates in excess of 30 million cu. ft. of gas per day. Noble notes that the Noa South #1 well confirmed recoverable reserves of more than 200 billion cu. ft. of gas in the Noa area and more than 1.3 trillion cu. ft. of gas in the greater Noa/Mari-B areas. Noble subsidiary Samedan Mediterranean Sea operates the project and owns a 40% working interest; Avner Oil Exploration LP, 21.39%; Delek Drilling LP, 23.61%; and RB Mediterranean Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of R&B Falcon, 15%. 10 Russia Russian firm Lukoil is spudding a second exploration well on its new Khvalynskoye find in the Russian sector of the Caspian Sea. The first well, drilled to a total depth of 4,200 meters this past spring, encountered seven hydrocarbon reservoirs. The field lies on the Severny block, which covers an area of 8,500 square miles. Lukoil says that the block, in which it owns a 100% interest, holds minimum recoverable reserves of 2.2 billion bbl. of oil equivalent, split 60% to oil and 40% to gas. The company plans to drill a total of eight exploratory wells during the next two years; as many as 200 wells could eventually be required to exploit the accumulation. 11 Azerbaijan Lukoil and Socar, the national Azeri company, have agreed to jointly develop two oil fields on the Apsheron Peninsula. The partners will spend $250 million to rehabilitate and explore Zykh and Govsany fields, which are thought to contain as much as 146 million bbl. of oil. The license area covers 128 square kilometers, including 52 square kilometers of rehabilitation area. After the companies complete additional geological and geophysical surveys, they plan to drill two exploration and appraisal wells. 12 China Kerr-McGee Corp., Oklahoma City, reports that it has made an oil discovery on Block 05/36 in Bohai Bay. The 6,804-ft. Caofeidian 12-1-1 flowed from two zones in the Guantao Formation at a combined rate of 2,562 bbl. of oil per day. The well lies in approximately 70 ft. of water, about 10 miles east of Kerr-McGee's recent discoveries in neighboring block 04/36. The company says that the tested zones in the Guantao could cover an area exceeding 5,000 acres, and that additional log pay was encountered in the Ming and Lower Guantao sections. An appraisal well is under way on the 1,200-square-kilomter block, and 3-D seismic is also planned. Kerr-McGee operates Block 05/36 and holds a 50% working interest; it also operates Block 04/36 and holds an 81.8% interest. Pendaries Petroleum Ltd. has a 15% interest in 05/36 and an 18.2% interest in 04/36, and Newfield Exploration owns the remaining 35% interest in 05/36. 13 Australia Calgary-based Alberta Energy Co. says that it has made an oil discovery in the Timor Sea, Northwest Shelf of Western Australia. The Puffin-5 well on the AC/P22 block encountered 9.4 meters of net oil pay; core, log and test data indicate that the reservoir is highly permeable. The company will suspend Puffin-5 as a potential producer, and is assessing plans to drill an appraisal well. The Puffin-5 well is 1.1 kilometers from the 1972 Puffin-1 well and 9 kilometers from the 1974 Puffin-2 oil discovery. The area lies about 80 kilometers south of Jabiru and Challis fields. AEC operates the block and holds a 60% working interest; subsidiaries of WestOil NL and Norwest Energy NL Ltd. each hold 20% interests.