Murphy Oil has outlined its ongoing deepwater plans for 2015, while also of course joining the inexorably growing list of companies confirming spending cuts for the year.

Capital expenditure for 2015 is expected to be approximately US $2.3 billion, it said, 33% lower than in 2014. Production, meanwhile, for the first quarter of this year is estimated will be 221,000 boe/d, with full year 2015 production to be in the range of 195,000-207,000 boe/d.

Encouragingly, Murphy has a strong line-up of deepwater activity it is involved with, both in the US Gulf and elsewhere, with some notable milestones achieved during 2014.For example, the US independent achieved first oil at three new deepwater fields – Siakap North-Petai and Kakap-Gumusut offshore Malaysia, and at Dalmatian in the GoM (tied back via two wells to Petronius). It also sanctioned its part in the Block H floating Liquefied Natural Gas project offshore Sabah, Malaysia.

In Malaysia it has of course just sealed the sale of the last part of its 30% stake in its oil and gas assets for a healthy US $2 billion, the last phase of which is just concluding (see related story, page 11). The Kakap-Gumusut main project declared first oil in October last year, while the FLNG project in Block H is progressing on schedule.

In the GoM it is continuing to progress its two-well expansion project at Medusa in the Mississippi Canyon area, with the first subsea well drilled to plan and the second well underway. First production from the new wells via a subsea tieback to the Medusa facility is expected by mid-year. At the non-operated deepwater Kodiak development, drilling continues on the initial well with first oil targeted for the first half of 2016, added Murphy. It is being developed via a two-well tieback to Devil’s Tower. A single well tieback of Dalmatian South is also expected to flow first oil via the Petronius production facility by mid-2016, it said.

Offshore