E&P Notes (September 2021)
Authors: JPT staff _ 
Published: October 2021

Eni Confirms Block 10 Oil Strike Offshore Mexico

Eni confirmed it encountered oil shows in the Upper Miocene sequences on the Sayulita Exploration Prospect in Block 10 in the mid-deep water of the Cuenca Salina Sureste Basin. Preliminary estimates put the new find at between 150 and 200 million BOE in place.

Sayulita-1 EXP is the seventh successful well drilled by Eni in the basin and the second commitment well of Block 10. It is located approximately 70 km off the coast and just 15 km away from the previous oil discovery of Saasken that will be appraised toward year-end. The well was drilled to a total depth of 1758 m by the semisubmersible Valaris 8505 in a water depth of 325 m.

APA Touts Appraisal Success Off Suriname

APA Corp. said its Sapakara South-1 appraisal well, located on the eastern edge of the Sapakara area, encountered approximately 30 m of net black-oil pay in a single zone of high-quality Campano-Maastrichtian reservoir. Drillship Maersk Valiant will soon mobilize to the next exploration prospect at Bonboni, about 45 km to the north, before returning later in the year to flow-test Sapakara South-1.

A second appraisal well encountered two thin intervals of black oil above water in the Campano-Maastrichtian at Kwaskwasi, impacting a small portion of the eastern edge of Kwaskwasi. The Campano-Maastrichtian intervals at Kwaskwasi and the Sapakara South-1 discovery are separate and unrelated.

Shell Begins Barracuda Production

Shell Trinidad and Tobago, through BG International, a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc, has started production on Block 5C in the East Coast Marine Area in Trinidad and Tobago. Block 5C, known as Project Barracuda, is a backfill project with approximately 140 MMcf/D of sustained near-term gas production with peak production expected to be about 220 MMcf/D. It is Shell’s first greenfield project in the country and one of its largest in Trinidad and Tobago since the BG Group acquisition.

“Today’s announcement strengthens the resilience and competitiveness of Shell’s position in Trinidad and Tobago,” said Maarten Wetselaar, director of integrated gas, renewable, and energy solutions for Shell. “This is a key growth opportunity that supports our long-term strategy in the country as well as our global LNG growth ambitions.”

Eni Strikes Oil With Eban Well Off Ghana

Eni has struck a significant oil discovery on the Eban exploration prospect in CTP Block 4, offshore Ghana. The Eban-1X well is the second well drilled in CTP Block 4, following the Akoma discovery. Preliminary estimates place the potential of the Eban-Akoma complex between 500 and 700 million BOE in place.

The Eban-1X well is located approximately 50 km off the coast and about 8 km northwest of Sankofa Hub, where the John Agyekum Kufuor FPSO is located. It was drilled by drillship Saipem 10000 in a water depth of 545 m and reached a total depth of 4179 m. The well encountered a single light-oil column of about 80 m in a thick sandstone reservoir interval of Cenomanian age with hydrocarbons encountered down to 3949 m.

Talos Lines Up Gulf of Mexico Successes

Talos Energy drilled a successful sidetrack of its Crown and Anchor well at Viosca Knoll Block 960. The probe was drilled to a true vertical depth of about 13,000 ft and encountered around 50 ft of net oil pay in the M62 Middle Miocene target horizon. The project has moved to the completion phase and will produce through existing subsea infrastructure to the nearby Marlin tension-leg platform. First production is targeted by the late third quarter of 2021. Talos holds a 34% working interest in the project along with Beacon Offshore Energy (operator) and Ridgewood Crown & Anchor LLC.

Greenland Calls Halt to New Oil Exploration

Greenland has ended its decades-long pursuit to become an oil-producing nation after announcing 16 July it would stop granting oil and gas exploration licenses, adding that “the future does not lie in oil.” Oil exploration began for the country in the 1970s, with several major operators coming in to test the area’s prospectivity. Exploration for hydrocarbons in Greenland peaked between 2002 and 2014, when more than 20 offshore licenses were granted. Those companies that drilled walked away empty-handed.

“There’s no doubt that our subsoil is rich in oil resources,” the government said in the 16 July press release. “But oil extraction won’t only have positive effects on our society, it will adversely affect our nature and environment, and may adversely affect fisheries as well as contribute to the worsening global climate crisis.”