E&P Notes (March 2021)
Authors: JPT staff _ 
Published: April 2021

KrisEnergy Pumps Cambodia’s First Crude in 17 Years

A Cambodian concession has commenced production after years of delays in a venture between Singapore’s KrisEnergy and the government. The crude comes from oil fields in Block A, comprising 3083 km2 of the Khmer basin in the oil-rich Gulf of Thailand, off the southwestern coast of Sihanoukville.

The concession will progress in phases once new wells are commissioned and completed.

Kelvin Tang, chief executive of KrisEnergy’s Cambodian operations, called the 29 December event “an important strategic milestone” for the company, while Prime Minister Hun Sen hailed the first extraction as “a new achievement for Cambodia’s economy” and “a huge gift for our nation.”

Ironbark Australian Exploration Well Declared Dry; Co-Owner Stocks Plummet

BP has come up dry at its Ironbark-1 exploration well, the anticipated multi-trillion-scf prospect off the west Australian Pilbara coast.

The disappointing prospect was once seen as a potential gas supplier to the emptying North West Shelf (NWS) LNG plant, where BP is a co-owner, within 5 to 10 years.

After 2 months of drilling to a total depth of 5618 m, “no significant hydrocarbon shows were encountered in any of the target sands,” according to co-owner New Zealand Oil and Gas (NZOG).

Petrorecôncavo Buys Petrobras’ Onshore Bahian Stake for $30 Million

Brazilian operator Petrobras on 23 December signed a contract with independent producer Petrorecôncavo to sell its entire stake in 12 onshore E&P fields, the Remanso Cluster, in the state of Bahia.

The sale value for the fields was $30 million; $4 million was paid on signing, $21 million at the closing of the transaction, and $5 million will be paid 1 year after that.

The Remanso Cluster comprises the onshore fields of Brejinho, Canabrava, Cassarongongo, Fazenda Belém, Gomo, Mata de São João, Norte Fazenda Caruaçu, Remanso, Rio dos Ovos, Rio Subaúma, São Pedro, and Sesmaria.

Zion Spuds the Israeli Megiddo-Jezreel #2 Well

On 6 January, Zion Oil and Gas officially spudded the Megiddo­Jezreel #2 on its 99,000­acre Megiddo­Jezreel license area in Israel.

“With unique operating conditions in the COVID­19 environment, our crews have performed an amazing task,” Zion CEO Robert Dunn said.

“Mobilizing a rig into a new coun­try during a pandemic and rigging up is the most challenging part of the drilling operation,” Zion’s vice president of operations, Monty Kness, added.

Exxon Declares a Dud at Second Guyana Well

Exxon Mobil said on 15 January that its exploration well in the prolific Stabroek Block off Guyana’s coast did not find oil in its target area.

Exxon, which operates the Stabroek Block in a consortium with Hess and China’s CNOOC, has made 18 discoveries in the area in 5 years, totaling more than 8 billion BOE, for a combined potential for producing up to 750,000 B/D of crude.

The Hassa­1 exploration well was the giant’s second setback to its drilling campaign in recent months.

Heirs Holdings Buys 45% of Shell Nigeria’s OML 17 Field

Shell Nigeria announced on 15 January it had completed a $533 million sale of its stakes in an onshore OML 17 oil field in Nigeria to African strategic investor Heirs Holdings, Nigeria’s largest publicly listed conglomerate.

The deal is one of the largest oil and gas financings in Africa in more than a decade, with a financing component of $1.1 billion provided by a consortium of global and regional banks and investors.

Heirs Holdings, in partnership with Transcorp, one of the largest power producers in Nigeria with 2000 MW of installed capacity, purchased 45% stake in the field. It acquired the stakes of Shell, Total, and Eni to further its expansion into the oil and gas industry.

Apex Discovers Oil in Egypt’s Western Desert

Privately held independent E&P firm Apex International Energy, backed in part by UK energy investment firm Blue Water Energy, on 18 January announced a discovery in the Southeast Meleiha Concession (SEM) in the western desert of Egypt.

The discovery was made at the SEMZ-11X well located 10 km west of Zarif field, the nearest producing field.

The well was drilled to a total depth of 5,700 ft and encountered 65 ft of oil pay in the Cretaceous sandstones of the Bahariya and Abu Roash G formations. Testing of the Bahariya resulted in a peak rate of 2,100 B/D with no water. Additional uphole pay exists in the Bahariya and Abu Roash G formations that can be added to the production stream in the future.

Kosmos Announces Oil at Winterfell Well

Dallas-based E&P independent Kosmos Energy announced on 19 January an oil discovery in deepwater US Gulf of Mexico.

The Winterfell discovery well, the product of infrastructure-led exploration (ILX), was drilled to a total depth of approximately 23,000 ft and is located in approximately 5,300 ft of water. This subsalt Upper Miocene prospect in off-shore Louisiana encountered approximately 85 ft of net oil pay in two intervals.

ILX exploration, which has featured prominently in upstream operators’ portfolios in recent years of relatively low oil prices, is exploration around producing hubs that can be hooked up to those facilities easily and cheaply. The development sidesteps the need for costly and time-consuming individual hub construction.

Equinor Gets Permit To Drill North Sea Wildcat Well

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate has granted Equinor a drilling permit for wildcat well 31/11-1 S in the North Sea offshore Norway, 62 km south of the Troll field.

The drilling program is the first exploration well to be drilled in production license 785 S, awarded on 6 February 2015 (APA 2014).

Operator Equinor and Total E&P Norge are 50/50 partners in the license, which consists of parts of Blocks 26/2 and 31/11.

Petrobras, ExxonMobil Hit Hydrocarbons at Urissanê Well, Offshore Brazil

Brazilian state-owned Petrobras announced on 29 January it had discovered hydrocarbons in a well located in the Campos Basin presalt off Brazil’s coast of Campos dos Gotyacaze in the State of Rio de Janeiro.

Well 1-BRSA-1377-RJS (informally called Urissanê) is located in Block C-M-411, at a depth of 2950 m approximately 200 km offshore.

Petrobras, which operates the block in a 50/50 partnership with Exxon Mobil, said it would analyze the well data to better target exploratory activities and assess the potential of the discovery.

BP Offloads 20% Share of Oman’s Block 61 To PTTEP

Marking another significant step in its divestment program, BP will sell a 20% participating interest in Oman’s 3950 km2 Block 61 in central Oman to Thailand’s national PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP) for $2.59 billion. BP will remain operator of the block, holding a 40% interest.‎

The sale comprises $2.45 billion payable on completion and $140 million payable contingent on preagreed conditions.‎ After the sale, BP will hold 40% interest in Block 61, while OQ holds 30%, PTTEP ‎20%, and ‎Petronas 10%.‎

Block 61 contains the largest tight gas development in the Middle East.