JPT: Regional Update Oct06

Vol. 58 No. 10

October 2006

Regional Update

Africa

BP, Sonatrach, and Statoil commenced gas production from the first of three production trains on the In Amenas wet-gas-joint development project in Algeria, located approximately 850 km south of Hassi Messaoud. The project includes development of four primary gas fields and gas-gathering and -processing facilities.
OMV reported the discovery of oil and gas on the Nawara 1 well in Jenein Sud Exploration Permit in southern Tunisia. The well tested at 5,970 BOPD and 58 MMcf/D of gas.
Oil and Natural Gas Co. began production from the Tharjhat field in Sudan’s Block 5A. The well is producing at 38,000 BOPD, and production is expected to stabilize at 40,000 BOPD.
IPR, Sipetrol-Chileans, and INA-Croatians made a new pool discovery in the North Bahariya Concession, a frontier area in Egypt’s Western Desert. The Ferdaus-2X well encountered oil and gas shows in two zones and was completed producing 1,400 BOPD of 41°API oil.

Chevron, Mitsui Oil Exploration Co., and Caltex will drill five offshore exploration wells in Cambodia during 2006 and another five in 2007. The purpose of these wells is to expand the base resource of two of four discoveries made in Block A in previous years.
Oil and Natural Gas Corp. made five gas discoveries in the Krishna Godavari basin off the Andhra coast and plans to begin production 2009–10. The five discoveries together with two earlier finds have in-place reserves of up to 3 Tcf.
Operator Daewoo Intl., Oil and Natural Gas Corp., Korea Gas Corp., and The Gas Authority of India found gas in an appraisal well in the Block A-3 Mya field in Myanmar. The reservoir is estimated to flow at 57 MMcf/D. Gas reserves also were detected in two of three appraisal wells in Block A-1 of the Shwe Phyu field. Daily production capacity from the latter finds is estimated at 42 MMcf/D.
Operator Roc Oil, Horizon, Petsec Energy, and Oil Australia confirmed discovery of a 95-m net hydrocarbon pay column on the Wei-6-12S-1 exploration well in Block 22/12 in the Beibu Gulf offshore China.

Nexus Energy reported that the Longtom-3 ST1 well, drilled to 2563 m in the VIC/P54 Permit in the offshore Gippsland basin, encountered 98 vertical m of gross gas sand.
Beach Petroleum and Great Artesian Oil and Gas reported a gas flow of 11 MMcf/D from the Middleton-1 wildcat well in the Cooper basin of south Australia. The well is located 50 km west of Moomba.

Tullow, ConocoPhillips, and GDF Britain encountered gas pay on the K4 exploration well 44/23b-13 in the U.K. sector of the North Sea. The K4 discovery is located 5 km southeast of the Kelvin gas discovery.
Oilexco reported test results at the Brenda field in Block 15/25b in the U.K. North Sea. Well 15/25b-D1 flowed at 6,301 BOPD, Well 15/25b-D2 flowed at 9,765 BOPD, and Well 15/25b-D3 flowed at 10,417 BOPD.

Saudi Aramco discovered a new gas field with the Zamlah-1 well, located 50 km south of the Ghawar Field and 250 km southeast of Riyadh. The well flowed 20 MMcf/D of gas with 1,400 B/D of condensate.

Chevron, Statoil, and Devon reported an oil find on the Jack 2 well in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), according to Chevron an achievement that could be a breakthrough in the “lower tertiary,” an ancient rock layer that extends for hundreds of miles beneath sea bottom. Production from the area could add 300,000 to 500,000 BOPD to U.S. output. In the first flow test in this layer, the well flowed at more than 6,000 BOPD.
Chevron, Anadarko, Plains E&P, and Shell announced an oil discovery on the Big Foot Well No. 2 Sidetrack 3 on Walker Ridge 29 Block in the GOM. The well encountered approximately 300 ft of net oil pay.
Operator Nexen and Eni made a gas discovery in the Longhorn exploration well, located in the GOM deepwater Mississippi Canyon Block 546. The well, located 195 km southeast of New Orleans, was drilled to a total depth of more than 3900 m in a water depth of 750 m. Also, oil production commenced from Eni’s Allegheny South field, located in Green Canyon Block 298.

Chevron Corp. and BG Group announced the successful delivery of first natural gas from the Dolphin Deep development to the Atlantic LNG Train 3 and 4 processing facility in Point Fortin, Trinidad. The field is located in Block 5a, approximately 52 miles off the east coast of Trinidad. Production is expected to average 220 MMcf/D.
Operator Petrobras, BG Group, and Petrogal encountered light oil with the 1-BRSA-369A-RJS well in ultradeep water in the Santos basin, located 250 km offshore Rio de Janeiro.