Discovered Oil News

This week Esgian’s Week 50 Rig Analytics Market Roundup notes developments in the semisub sector including that Shell has decided to exercise its option on Stena Don in the North Sea but not on Deepsea Bollsta in Namibia. Meanwhile, a new contract for the Transocean Barents will see it operate in the Black Sea, and jackup Shelf Drilling Perseverance will move to Vietnam.ContractsShelf Drilling has secured a contract award for the 400ft Shelf Drilling Perseverance jackup rig with PetroVietnam Domestic Exploration Production Operating Company Limited (PVEP POC).

Dutch FPSO leasing specialist SBM Offshore said Thursday it had completed the US$1.75 billion project financing for the FPSO One Guyana. The company has previously said that this would be the company's largest FPSO so far. It will be deployed at ExxonMobil's Yellowtail development, offshore Guyana.The Dutch firm, which is behind all four FPSO projects in Guyana, said the One Guyana project financing was secured by a consortium of 15 international banks. SBM Offshore expects to draw the loan in full, phased over the construction period of the FPSO.

The company that operates the pipeline that spilled an estimated 3,000 barrels of oil into the Pacific Ocean off California has an 800-page manual on handling an oil spill - but it is unclear whether its employees followed those procedures.Houston-based Amplify Energy Corp and several state and federal regulatory agencies have provided differing accounts of what happened on Oct. 2, when the pipeline spill that fouled beaches, killed wildlife, and closed down fishing along miles of coastline was officially reported.The U.S.

The oil and gas sector continues to rebound from the great downturn, though regional surges of Covid-19 have been spooking the market, causing crude prices to be a bit volatile over the past two weeks. But, the near-term outlook remains very positive. This is the conclusion of the in-depth market analysis in the July 2021 Floating Production Systems Report - a go-to database for all things FPSO/FPU - just released by International Maritime Associates/World Energy Reports (IMA/WER).Asked what is driving the positive sentiment…

U.S. oil major ExxonMobil has made another oil discovery at the prolific Stabroek offshore block in Guyana. This adds to around nine billion barrels of oil equivalent discovered over the past few years and paves way for future development.The discovery was made at Whiptail-1 well at the 6.6 million acres (26,800 square kilometers) offshore block. The well encountered 246 feet (75 meters) of net pay in high-quality oil-bearing sandstone reservoirs. The Whiptail discovery is located approximately 4 miles southeast of the Uaru-1 discovery that was announced in January 2020 and approximately 3 miles west of the Yellowtail field. Whiptail-1 is being drilled in 5…

Iran's Director of Ports and Maritime Affairs of Abada, Reza Safari,  announced a 47% increase in exports from Abadan, Arvandkenar and Chouebdeh Ports.During the last 10 months of this year, exports of goods and commodities from Abadan ports has increased by 47%, Reza said.The export volume of goods and commodities in the last 10 months of this year was 27 thousand 735 tons more than in the same period last year.Agricultural products, household appliances and light products, meat and meat products are among the most exported items from the three ports of Abadan, Arvandkenar and Chouebdeh. The destinations of exports from ports of Abadan are Gulf countries including Iraq and Kuwait.Meanwhile…

Kenya on Saturday inaugurated the first part of a new container terminal at Mombasa which is expected to boost by 50 percent the volume of cargo handled by East Africa's largest seaport. Construction of the 30 billion shilling ($296.74 million)terminal began in March 2012 and was completed in February this year. The project was financed by a loan from Japan through the Japan International cooperation agency (JICA), and Kenya will repay the loan over a 40-year period. A gateway to East and Central Africa, the Indian Ocean port funnels imports of fuel and consumer goods as well as exports of tea and coffee from landlocked neighbours such as Uganda and Rwanda.

Cairn together with its joint venture partners have announced that the FAN-1 exploration well, offshore Senegal, has discovered oil. The well, located in 1,427 metres (m) water depth and approximately 100 kilometres offshore in the Sangomar Deep block, has reached a Target Depth (TD) of 4,927 m and was targeting multiple stacked deepwater fans. As stated prior to the commencement of operations there are no plans for immediate well testing. Further evaluation will now be required to calibrate the well with the existing 3D seismic in order to determine future plans and optimal follow up locations to determine the extent of the discovered resource.

Kenya on Friday launched a single electronic system for processing imports and exports, to simplify red tape blamed for holding up trade in the trading hub of the region. Kenya is the main trade gateway to east Africa, through its Indian Ocean port of Mombasa, but traders say it takes too long to get goods cleared and permit-related delays ramp up costs. Previously, entrepreneurs had to fill several forms and visit 24 different government agencies to get the permits and pay the levies, fees, duties and taxes they need to get goods across borders.

Heavy lift operations offshore are an awe-inspiring feat, but an operation that requires consistent monitoring of man, machine and procedure to ensure they are conducted in as an efficient and safe manner as possible. Due to a growing focus on safety related to subsea lifting operations, DNV GL recently established a Joint Industry Project (JIP) to develop practical methods for reducing the risks and lifetime cost of steel wire ropes for subsea lifting applications, using an integrated systems approach.

Offshore rope manufacturer, Lankhorst Ropes has been awarded a contract by Aberdeen based Dana Petroleum to provide Gama 98 polyester mooring lines for the Western Isles Development FPSO vessel (Floating Production Storage and Offloading). Given the weather conditions in the North Sea, and relatively shallow water depth, the cylindrically shaped FPSO will use a semi-taut leg mooring system. It will be moored with 14 polyester mooring lines in three clusters of 4, 4 and 6 lines at 250m water depth.

Scana Industrier ASA subsidiary, Scana Offshore Vestby, has signed a winch supply contract with UK-based Dana Petroleum. The contract is for delivery of mooring winches for Dana Petroleum's new floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) which will be used in their Western Isles Development Project. The total value of the contract is 57 MNOK. Dana Petroleum plc is a $4 billion oil and gas business with operations in the UK, Egypt, Norway, The Netherlands and Africa. The Western Isles Project (Dana 77% and Cieco 23%) will develop two discovered oil fields called Harris and Barra in the Northern North Sea, 160km east of the Shetlands and 12km west of the Tern field. The FPSO will be based on Sevan Marine technology and built at COSCO Qidong Shipyard in China.

The maritime industry goes from cycle to cycle, living with and by uncertainty. You could even say that our industry embraces risk. This means that “What’s next?” is always a relevant question – and one that gets some interesting responses. During Nor-Shipping 2011, we discovered that the “what’s next” question really resonates with the industry when we used it to support the theme “Next Generation Shipping” for the event week. The standing-room only audience at the Nor-Shipping…

Barents Oberver reports that the recently discovered oil spill now threatens marine life and sea birds in the White Sea, the unique Arctic waters in Russia’s northwest. The magnitude of the spill remains unknown, but environmentalists fear for the worst. Last year’s spill, which took place at the same time of year, polluted more than 210,000 square meters of waters and 400 square meters of the coastline. While the Belomorsk Oil Base in 2011 put out oil booms, it is not able to do so this year because the bay is not yet ice-free,say WWF Russia. According to Aleksey Smirnov, chairman of the Murmansk regional Committee on Environment and Nature Management, the oil leakages to the sea come from the numerous of spill which over the years have run into the adjacent land.

Infield Systems has published a new report on prospects for the offshore Arctic oil and gas sector through 2017. Infield has identified over 130 Bboe in discovered oil, gas, and condensate reserves throughout the offshore Arctic/sub-arctic regions. Around 114 Bboe, or 86% of the total, are gas reserves, with around 16 Bbbl of oil, according to the report.    (Source: Offshore Magazine)

Malaysia's state-oil firm Petronas has discovered oil in the Samarang-Asam Paya production sharing contract (PSC) area offshore eastern Sabah state. Tests carried out on the Alab-1 well flowed oil at a rate of 4,700 bpd. "The discovery is currently being evaluated and further exploration activities, including new seismic data acquisition and appraisal drillings are planned," Petronas said. It said that due to its proximity to the facilities of the Samarang oil fields, Petronas is targeting an early commencement of the development and production of the new field.

Deepwater is one of the few areas where good prospects of major oil finds still remain, and these are mainly outside the control of OPEC. In a note to clients today, John Westwood, MD of international energy analysts Douglas-Westwood said “over the past year the stock prices of a grouping of 10 companies with significant exposure to the sector (the Douglas-Westwood Deepwater Index) has risen by an average of 79% and one, Wellstream, by 157%”. Deepwater now accounts for almost 15% of total offshore oil and gas production, but over the next few years its total share relative to shallow-water output will grow, to around 20% of offshore production by 2011.

According to reports, the Australian oil exploration company Santos announced an oil and gas discovery at the Dua-4X exploration well currently being drilled in exploration Block 12E, offshore of Vietnam. Initial tests at the Dua-4X and Dua-4X ST1 wells, operated by Premier Oil, discovered oil and another well is to be drilled to evaluate reserves in the southern part of the field, said a Santos report. Santos have agreed in April this year to take a 37.5% interest in two Vietnam exploration permits - Block 12E and Block 12W. Dua-4X was drilled down-flank from the 1974 Dua-IX disco very well that produces: 1,500 barrels of oil per day. Following the intersection of hydrocarbons in the Dua 4X,vprineal well, a sidetrack has been drilled (Dua-4X ST1) to provide further geological information.

World drilling activity for oil and gas fell 24 percent in 1999 from 1998, but levels should bounce back in 2000, IHS Energy Group said. "In 2000, I expect levels to reach at least those of 1998," said Ian Cross, Asia director for IHS, who produced an IHS report on world drilling activity in 1999. "Some areas in 2000 will be slow to catch up. I think the Far East will be one of them. There is less money going into this region," he said. IHS said it estimated 7,433 exploration and delineation wells were completed in 1999, compared with around 9,800 in 1998. Exact figures for Russia, onshore China and India were not available, IHS said.

R&B Falcon Drilling has received a letter of intent from for Petroleo Brasiliero S.A. (Petrobas) for a two-year contract for DP drillship Deepwater Frontier, for operations offshore Brazil in up to approximately 8,900 ft. of water. Deepwater Frontier, capable of drilling in up to 10,000 ft. of water, is owned 60 percent by R&B Falcon Corp. and 40 percent by Conoco. The vessel will sail to Brazil upon completion of its current one-well commitment in West Africa. Operations for Petrobras are expected to commence in November 1999. The current well underway in West Africa and the Petrobras work, will essentially complete all of the R&B Falcon's 2.5-year drilling contract obligation with respect to the rig sharing agreement with Conoco. Conoco Inc. and Unocal Corp.

Conoco Inc. and Unocal Corp. discovered oil with their K2 exploration well in the Green Canyon Block 562 in deep water in the Gulf of Mexico, Conoco said. Work on the well, located about 180 miles (290 km) south of New Orleans, has been suspended to study the significance of the find, a company spokesperson said. The K2 well, started May 17 in 3,900 ft. of water, was suspended to "allow us to plan a safe and cost effective appraisal of the hydrocarbon zone we have encountered, as well as continue to explore the deeper objectives," said Conoco Executive Vice President Rob McKee. McKee also said the well had encountered oil in a high-quality reservoir and the company was encouraged by the results to date, although the commercial significance is yet to be determined.