Block 15 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).

Danish offshore vessel owner Maersk Supply Service said Wednesday it had won a long-term contract with ExxonMobil in Angola.The contract is for the provision of project management, engineering, and marine services in support of the development of offshore drilling and production operations offshore Angola in the Block 15.Maersk Supply Service subsea support vessel Maersk Forza will perform the offshore marine operations, including offshore field maintenance support, deep-water AHC precision lifting, and ROV operations for the installation of subsea and other marine equipment.

Oslo-listed offshore vessel operator DOF Subsea has secured a 6-month extension to a contract in Africa.The company said that the project, with an unnamed client and at an undisclosed location, would continue using the Skandi Seven throughout the extended duration.The vessel is used for integrated FSV services, project management, engineering, procurement, and logistical services within deep-water construction and maintenance of existing subsea infrastructure.While DOF was tight-lipped on further details, MarineTraffic.com AIS data on Skandi Seven show the vessel has recently left Luanda, Angola, en route to "EAST HUB, BLOCK 15."  East Hub development is an area offshore Angola, operated by Eni.

Eni president Claudio Descalzi has met Angola's president Joao Goncalves Lourenco in Luanda to discuss the Italian energy giant's operations in the country.During the meeting with President João Lourenço, Claudio Descalzi said that they discussed the participation of the Italian multinational in the studies and exploration of crude oil and in other sector-related projects.ENI plans to spend billions of dollars in exploration and development of new offshore areas next year, he has informed.In the sidelines of the meeting, Eni and Sonangol signed an amendment of Block 15/06 Production Sharing Contract which defines the new perimeter of the block, now covering an additional area of 400 km2 on the west side.

Saipem has signed a contract with Eni Angola S.p.A. in relation to the West Hub Development project in Angola, which incorporates the work orders previously assigned and communicated in 2016 and 2017 and adds the scope of work for the development of the Vandumbu field in Block 15/06. The additional activities will be carried out by the Offshore E&C division and encompass the engineering, procurement, construction and installation required for the development of the Vandumbu subseea field at deepwater depths ranging from 1300 to 1500 metres. Overall the project includes the realisation of two production pipelines made of special material, and the laying of umbilicals and service lines of various diameters (Subsea, Umbilicals, Risers & Flowlines - SURF).

Bumi Armada Berhad, Malaysia-based international offshore energy facilities and services provider celebrated the naming ceremony of the Armada Olombendo Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) last weekend. Armada Olombendo FPSO represents Bumi Armada’s largest FPSO and it will operate in Angola on Block 15/06, East Hub, a wide area of 2,984 square-kilometer (km2) in the Angolan deep offshore, located approximately 350 km northwest of Luanda and 130 kilometer west of Soyo.

Statoil has signed a farm-in agreement with Tullow to acquire a 35% working interest in offshore exploration block 15 in the Pelotas basin, deepening its position in Uruguay. "With this transaction, we are increasing our exposure to the upside potential of this untested geological setting. This is in line with Statoil' exploration strategy of access at scale," says Nicholas Alan Maden, senior vice president of Exploration. Recently Statoil announced its entry into Uruguay as partner in exploration block 14. By accessing the adjacent block 15 Statoil continues to pursue this regional geological trend. Block 15 covers an area of more than 8,000 km2 and sits in water depth of 2,000-3,000 meters. Tullow Uruguay Limited.

Exxon Mobil Corporation announced today that its subsidiary, Esso Exploration Angola (Block 15) Limited (Esso Angola), has started oil production ahead of schedule at the Kizomba Satellites Phase 2 project offshore Angola. Kizomba Satellites Phase 2 is a Block 15 subsea infrastructure development of the Kakocha, Bavuca and Mondo South fields. Mondo South is the first field to begin production, and the other two satellite fields are expected to start up in the coming months. The project develops approximately 190 million barrels of oil with peak production currently estimated at 70,000 barrels of oil per day. The project is expected to increase total daily Block 15 production to 350,000 barrels. Esso Angola is operator of the project and Block 15.

Eni started production two weeks ahead of schedule at the Cinguvu oil field, from the West Hub Development Project in Block 15/06 in the Angolan Deep Offshore, approximately 350 kilometers northwest of Luanda and 130 kilometers west of Soyo. The start-up follows the achievement of West Hub’s first oil through Sangos field start-up, during last November 2014. The West Hub Development Project encompasses the development of Sangos, Cinguvu, Mpungi, Mpungi North and Vandumbu fields in a water depth ranging from 1,000 to 1,500 meters. The wells are arranged in clusters and connected to the FPSO (Floating Production Storage and Offloading Unit) N’Goma, which has a treatment capacity of 100,000 barrels of oil per day.

Dyna-Mac has secured a Letter of Award (LoA) from Armada Cabaca Ltd. worth approximately $48 million (USD) for the construction of six FPSO topsides modules. Armada Cabaca Ltd, an affiliate of Bumi Armada Berhad (Bumi Armada), a Malaysia-based international oilfield services provider to the oil and gas industry, contracted Dyna-Mac for a scope of work including detailed engineering and the fabrication of six units of topsides modules for an FPSO vessel that will be deployed at Eni’s Block 15/06 East Hub field, located 350 km northeast of Luanda in deep water offshore Angola. The topsides FPSO modules are scheduled to be delivered to the owner within the first quarter of 2016.

Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd wholly owned subsidiaries Keppel Shipyard Ltd (Keppel Shipyard) and Keppel Nantong Shipyard Co. Ltd have secured contracts from repeat customers worth a total of S$153 million. Keppel Shipyard's contract is for the conversion of a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel for Armada Cabaca Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bumi Armada Berhad (Bumi Armada) while Keppel Nantong's contract is to construct a submersible barge for Smit Shipping Singapore Pte Ltd (Smit Shipping), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Royal Boskalis Westminster Group. Mr Michael Chia, Managing Director (Marine & Technology)…

Today there are 324 oil/gas floating production units are now in service, on order or available for reuse on another field. FPSOs account for 64% of the existing systems, 79% of systems on order. Production semis, barges, spars and TLPs comprise the balance. The oil/gas production floater inventory has increased by four units since last month. Three FPSOs were ordered in August. We also reinstated a partially completed production semi,  Octobuoy, which we earlier deleted from the list of orders when the contract was terminated. This unit was being built for use by ATP in the North Sea.

Tug Fairmount Expedition has towed jack-up rig Naga 3 from the PV Marine Shipyard in Vung Tau, Vietnam, to the RD-19X Block 15-2 oilfield offshore Vietnam. Last month the tug has towed the rig from Singapore to the shipyard, after which the Fairmount Expedition remained anchored off Vung Tau. The Naga 3 is a Gusto MSC CJ46-X100-D design jack-up rig, built in 2010 by Dubai Drydocks World and owned by UMW Petropipe/Singapore Drilling. The 70 meters long rig can drill up to 9,144 meters in depth.

Statoil is divesting its 5% participating interest in the ENI-operated block 15/06 offshore Angola to the concessionaire Sonangol E.P. The transaction, subject to customary closing conditions, includes a consideration of $200 million and an effective date of January 1, 2013. “This transaction is part of Statoil’s continued optimisation process to maximise value and focus financial and organisational capabilities to core assets. The transaction will allow Statoil to unlock capital and contribute to improved financial flexibility going forward…

A compressor leak at Angola's new liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant has delayed loading programs and reduced output at the $10 billion project, which is due to shut for two months from July, a site manager said. Delays caused by a leaking valve at an air compressor unit has meant that LNG initially due to start being pumped aboard a waiting vessel on Tuesday this week has been pushed back to Monday next week. The leak will affect the export of Angola's third LNG shipment of 2014 for which it is currently collecting bids as part of a tender launched last week. "Five days ago an air compressor issue arose with one of the valves somehow leaking," a site source said.

ENI signs umbilicals contract with Aker Solutions for an offshore Angolan (W. Africa) deep water region field. The contract with ENI for the Block 15\06 West Hub development is worth approximately USD 50 million (NOK 300 million). ENI has the operatorship of Block 15\06. The West Hub development project, which is part of 15\06, is located approximately 350 kilometres northwest of Luanda and 130 kilometres west of Soyo in Angola. The West Hub consists of the main field Sangos and two additional satellite fields called Cinguvu and Ngoma. Aker Solutions' scope of work includes the engineering, procurement, fabrication, and supply of static and dynamic steel tube umbilicals, totalling 34 kilometres, in addition to associated equipment and hardware.

Keppel Shipyard Ltd  has secured Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) upgrading projects from its long-term partners SBM Offshore N.V. (SBM Offshore) and Bumi Armada Berhad (Bumi Armada). The combined contract value of the two projects is S$170 million. The first project is from SBM Offshore to refurbish and upgrade an existing FPSO vessel, FPSO Xikomba. Work on this FPSO unit is expected to be completed by 3Q 2013. Leased by Eni Angola S.p.A (eni) for 12 years for the development of Block 15/06, offshore Angola, FPSO Xikomba is jointly owned by SBM Offshore and Sociedade Nacional de Combustíveis de Angola, E.P. (Sonangol), Angola's national oil and gas company.

Keppel Shipyard Ltd. (Keppel Shipyard) has secured Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) upgrading projects from its long-term partners SBM Offshore N.V. (SBM Offshore) and Bumi Armada Berhad (Bumi Armada). The combined contract value of the two projects is S170 million. The first project is from SBM Offshore to refurbish and upgrade an existing FPSO vessel, FPSO Xikomba. Work on this FPSO unit is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2013. Leased by Eni Angola S.p.A (eni) for 12 years for the development of Block 15/06, offshore Angola, FPSO Xikomba is jointly owned by SBM Offshore and Sociedade Nacional de Combustíveis de Angola, E.P. (Sonangol), Angola's national oil and gas company.

Aker Solutions has signed a contract with Endeavour Energy UK, a subsidiary of Endeavour International Corporation, to supply subsea umbilicals and associated equipment for the East Rochelle development project located offshore UK. The contract value is approximately NOK 83 million ($15 million). Aker Solutions will supply one 30 kilometer infield control umbilical and one 650 meter riser umbilical that will provide all system functions for the Rochelle field. Subsea umbilicals are deployed on the seabed to supply necessary control and chemicals to subsea oil and gas wells, subsea manifolds and any subsea system requiring a remote control.

The Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) will present its 2011 Distinguished Achievement Awards on May 1 to Cortis (Cort) Cooper for his pioneering work in metocean research, and to BP Norway for the Life of Field seismic reservoir surveillance project. ExxonMobil Development Company will receive a special citation for its deepwater project implementation in Angola. The awards will be presented at the Annual OTC Dinner, a new signature event on Sunday evening that will be held at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas. The dinner will kick off the world’s largest conference for offshore development, which will be held 2-5 May at Reliant Park in Houston.

Eni and Sonangol announce a new major oil discovery in Block 15/06, located offshore Angola. The Cabaça South East-1 well, located at a depth of 470 meters, at a distance of 100 km from the coast, successfully reached its multi-target objective in the deepest levels of Miocene age, where oil bearing reservoirs, with a total of 450 meters of gross thickness, have been proven. Initial evaluations indicate that the discovery holds  material volumes of oil in place of high quality. Cabaça South East-1 is the seventh of eight expected exploration wells within the contractual commitments of the license. The well has produced results beyond initial expectations and confirms the potential for a second productive hub in the North East area of the block.

According to wire reports, two workers were killed and two others injured earlier this week after falling about 65 ft. to the ground when a 246-ton steel block fell over on a ship under construction in Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture. The four were working on the construction of a 90,000-ton containership for a German client at a shipbuilding dock of IHI Marine United Inc., launched in 2002 via the partial merger of Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co. and Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd. The accident took place shortly after 9 a.m., when they were trying to fix the steel block to the ship. The block -- 15 meters in height, 16 meters in width and 2.5 meters thick -- fell over the port side of the ship, throwing the four to the ground.

Exxon Mobil Corporation announced today its first oil production in Angola with the start-up of the Girassol development in the deepwater offshore area known as Block 17. of Luanda in water depths of 4,500 feet (1,350 meters). The development consists of subsea wells tied back to a Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel. processing 200,000 barrels of oil per day and has a two million barrel storage capacity. subsea wells are planned, and drilling is expected to continue until 2003. development. It is an important milestone with a promising future for ExxonMobil in Angola. development offshore West Africa. 250,000 barrels per day. First oil from Kizomba A is scheduled for late 2004. world. acres.