Zennor Acquires Interest In UK North Sea

Zennor Petroleum Ltd. said Sept. 17 that its wholly owned subsidiary, Zennor North Sea Ltd., has entered a sale and purchase agreement with Mitsui E&P UK Ltd. (MEPUK) for its interests in U.K. Continental Shelf licenses P.213, Block 16/26a, Area B and P.345 Block 16/27b Area B, which represent an 8.97% working interest in the Britannia Field.

Completion of the transaction is subject to customary regulatory and partner consents.

The acquisition of the Britannia Field interest is strategic for Zennor given its 100% operated working interest in the nearby Finlaggan Field, a planned subsea tieback to the Britannia platform. Zennor is drilling two wells as part of the Finlaggan Field development.

The effective date for the transaction, which doubles Zennor’s net production to about 5,000 boe/d, is Jan. 1, 2018. As part of the transaction agreement, MEPUK will retain the majority of the decommissioning liability up to an agreed cap with Zennor being responsible for the balance.

Aker BP CEO Predicts Fast Johan Sverdrup Ramp-up From Start

Aker BP, a partner in Norway’s giant Johan Sverdrup oil field, expects a fast ramp-up of production when the initial development phase ends in late 2019, the company’s CEO said Sept. 13.

“I think it will be done in a few months, because the production per well is so high,” Karl Johnny Hersvik told Reuters on the sidelines of an energy conference.

Johan Sverdrup Phase 1 will have capacity to produce 440,000 boe/d, while Phase 2, which is starting production in 2022, is expected to further boost output to 660,000 boe/d.

Sweden’s Lundin Petroleum, another partner in the Equinor-operated development, on Sept. 12 said it expected the field to start producing before November next year.

Equinor has said it expects the field to start in late 2019 but has not provided an estimate for when Phase 1 could reach full capacity.

Norway’s Okea Mulls Four Options For Grevling Discovery

Norwegian oil firm Okea is looking at four options to develop its North Sea Grevling oil discovery, which in turn could impact on the company’s valuation in a deal with Thai investor Bangchak Corp. PCL (BCP), Okea said.

BCP has agreed to invest $112.25 million in Okea to partly finance the company’s $537.8 million acquisition of Royal Dutch Shell’s stakes in the Draugen and Gjoea fields.

The various development options for Grevling included a standalone FPSO as well as a subsea tie-in to an existing platform. Okea also said it is considering installing a jackup rig with a floating storage and offloading facility, or a wellhead platform, and that its aim is for a per-barrel breakeven price below $35 to $40 when production starts in 2020-2022.

Redeployment of a leased FPSO could allow it to bring the field onstream in 2020, but this also would be the most expensive option, the presentation showed.

Okea has a 55% stake in Grevling after selling 15% to U.K.’s Chrysaor in March, while Norway’s state-owned Petoro has 30%. Chrysaor has an option to increase its stake to 35% in the discovery estimated to hold 16 MMboe to 51 MMboe.

Okea also said Repsol’s Yme Field redevelopment project, where it holds a 15% stake, was on track to start production in first-quarter 2020. Yme’s recoverable proven and probable reserves are estimated at about 66 MMbbl of oil, based on a 10-year field lifetime, but the long-term ambition will be to produce 90 MMbbl of oil, the presentation said.

Hurricane Completes Lancaster EPS Subsea Installation

U.K.-based Hurricane Energy has finished installing the subsea umbilical, risers and flowlines for the Lancaster Field’s early production system (EPS), the company said in a news release.

Having wrapped up the offshore installation program, the company plans to start a protective rock dumping program in October.

Hurricane added that the system is ready for the arrival of the Aoka Mizu FPSO. Sea trials are expected to start by the end of September, according to the release.

First oil is scheduled for first-half 2019.

Gazprom Neft Raises Reserves At Offshore Neptune Oil Field

Gazprom Neft, the oil arm of Russian gas giant Gazprom, said on Sept. 11 that a state subsoil commission has increased the oil reserves valuation of eastern offshore oil field Neptune to almost 416 million tonnes from the initial estimates.

Neptune, located near the Sakhalin Island in the Pacific Ocean, was Gazprom Neft’s largest oil discovery last year. The company said reserves had been raised by 1.6 times the previous estimate.

Russian oil companies have increased oil development in the country’s distant regions, such as East Siberia and the Far East, as traditional oil fields, located in Western Siberia, have become increasingly depleted.

“The Neptune Field has become one of the largest of Gazprom Neft’s assets by reserve volumes,” Alexander Dyukov, Gazprom Neft’s head, said in a statement.

“The Far East will be a new strategically important region of our activity for many years ahead, which will allow our company to work more actively on the Asia-Pacific region's markets,” he said.

Oceaneering Lands Subsea 7 Umbilical Contract For Shell’s Vito Development In GoM

Oceaneering International Inc. has entered a contract with Subsea 7 to supply an electrohydraulic steel tube control umbilical and flying leads for Shell’s deepwater Vito development in the Mississippi Canyon area of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico (GoM), according to a news release.

Product design and engineering are scheduled to begin in third-quarter 2018. Manufacturing is expected to start in 2019 at Oceaneering’s facility in Panama City, Florida, the company said.

The contract work scope set to be finished in second-quarter 2020.

—Staff & Reuters Reports