16 Offshore February 2015 • www.offshore-mag.com
GLOBAL E&P Jeremy Beckman • London
Subsea intervention
set to grow
Demand for subsea well intervention will
remain high over the next five years, according to analysts Douglas-Westwood. Despite
the oil price drop, they expect the number of
subsea wells worldwide to rise by 41%, driven
largely by an increase in ultra-deepwater developments. The fastest-growing market for
intervention vessels and rigs will likely be
Africa, while maturing subsea wells (more
than five years old) will drive increased demand for workover units in North and South
America and offshore Western Europe.
North America
Husky Oil expects first oil in mid-year
from the South White Rose satellite extension offshore Newfoundland & Labrador.
A Hibernia-formation well underneath the
North Amethyst field is expected to enter
production this summer, the company adds.
•••
Woodside Petroleum has completed a farm
in to 20% of four licenses operated by BP off-
shore Nova Scotia. Water depths range from
500-3,600 m ( 1,640-11,811 ft). Exploration drill-
ing is expected to start in 2017.
•••
Reliance Industries and PEMEX have en-
tered a memorandum of understanding to
jointly assess upstream opportunities in Mexi-
co and internationally. They also plan to share
their respective expertise in deepwater oil and
gas E&P.
•••
McDermott International has won a sec-
ond contract for PEMEX’s Ayatsil field devel-
opment in the Bay of Campeche. Two of its
vessels will launch and install the 8,400-ton
( 7,620-metric ton) jackets and the 3,400-ton
( 3,084-metric ton) jacket for the Ayatsil-A drill-
ing platform in 400 ft (122 m) water depth.
Last summer McDermott delivered the eight-
legged jacket and deck for Ayatsil-B.
Brazil
BG Group says operator Petrobras has
submitted declarations of commerciality for
three oil and gas accumulations in the Iará
area in the presalt Santos basin, to be renamed Atapú West, Berbigão, and Sururu.
All are in the BM-S- 11 block, 250 km (155
mi) from the coast of Rio de Janeiro in waters
around 2,270 m ( 7,447 ft) deep. Exploration
started on the concession in 2008. Development will likely call for three new FPSOs.
•••
Petrobras has clearance from Brazil’s ANP
to start up an early production system (EPS)
on the Buzios oil field (ex-Franco area) in the
presalt Santos basin. The seven-month pro-
gram on well 2-ANP-1RJS is designed to pro-
vide information for optimizing the full pro-
duction system for the field, 200 km (124 mi)
from the Rio de Janeiro coast in 1,600-2,100 m
( 5,249-6,890 ft) of water.
Another EPS is planned on the postsalt
heavy-oil Atlanta field elsewhere in the basin
in 1,550 m ( 5,085 ft) of water. Teekay Corp. has
commissioned the Damen Shipyard Group’s
Schiedam shipyard in the Netherlands to upgrade the FPSO Petrojarl I for this task, with
operations due to start during 1Q 2016 under
a five-year charter to Atlanta operator Queiroz
Galvão Exploracão and Producão.
West Africa
African Petroleum has agreed to farm out
50% of its LB-08 license offshore Liberia to
an unnamed London-based independent.
Consultants ERC Equipoise estimate potential resources at more than 2 Bbbl, and there
is proven oil in an adjacent license.
•••
ExxonMobil has signed production-
sharing agreements for two ultra-deepwater
blocks in Côte d’Ivoire’s portion of the Gulf
of Guinea. Blocks CI-602 and CI-603 span a
total area of 9,417 sq km ( 3,636 sq mi), in wa-
ter depths of 3,000-4,000 m ( 9,843-13,123 ft).
•••
Total has started harnessing associated
gas from the shallow-water Ofon field in Ni-
geria’s Offshore Mining Lease 102. The gas
is compressed and exported via a pipeline to
shore for feedstock for Nigeria LNG. Ofon
came onstream in 1997 and early this year
was producing around 25,000 boe/d of oil
and gas. The Phase 2 investments – new and
modified platforms – will eventually lift out-
put to 90,000 boe/d, with gas production of
around 100 MMcf/d.
•••
Lekoil and partner Green Energy have se-
cured approvals for a well re-entry program
at Nigeria’s offshore Otakipo oil field. The
company now expects production to start
during the first half of this year, six months
ahead of the previous target.
•••
Eni has begun production from the 1.5-Bboe
Nene Marine field in the Marine XII block, 17
km ( 10. 6 mi) offshore Congo, 16 months after
the initial discovery. The phased development
will involve installation of production platforms
and drilling of more than 30 wells with peak pro-
duction of more than 140,000 boe/d (first-phase
output is 7,500 boe/d). Water depth is 28 m (92
ft). Recently the company discovered more light
oil and gas in the same block via a well on the
Minsala Marine structure. In-place reserves
could be 1 Bboe, of which 80% appears to be oil.
Southern Europe/
Mediterranean Sea
Eni is taking a 70% operated stake in three
unexplored permits offshore Portugal. The
Gamba, Lavagante, and Santola concessions
cover a total area of 9,100 sq km ( 3,513 sq
mi). Portugal’s government awarded all three
to Galp Energia subsidiary Petrogal in 2007.
•••
Italy’s government was due to issue a ver-
dict in January on the environmental assess-
ment for the Ombrina Mare development off-
shore the Abruzzo region in the Adriatic Sea.
Operator Rockhopper was hoping for a posi-
tive outcome, allowing it to negotiate the final
award of the production concession. Late last
year, the government passed new legislation
through Italy’s parliament that should speed
up the planning process for various stalled oil
and gas development projects.
Petrojarl I will be converted for use on the Atlanta field. (Photo courtesy Damen/Teekay Shipping)
