IN BRI EF NEW S
well has the potential to open up a major new oil province in Guyane, with a significant number of further prospects and leads already identified. Tullow has stated that the Zaedyus prospect has an estimated P10 prospective resource of 700mn barrels and is geologically analogous to its Jubilee field, located off the coast of Ghana. Tullow holds a 27.5% stake in the permit, in which Northern holds a 1.25% beneficial interest. The other joint venture partners are Shell (45%), Total (25%) and Wessex Exploration (1.25% beneficial).
Bolivia’s state-owned YPF Bolivianos has signed oil and gas exploration agreements with Brazil’s Petrobras and Spain’s Repsol, reports Platts. The two companies will explore six areas in Bolivia’s southern Tarija region, where most of the country’s gas is produced. Petrobras will carry out exploration work in the Astillero and Sunchal areas, both in a producing zone and in the frontier area of San Telmo. Repsol will explore the Capiguazuti and Rio Saldo areas, both in a producing zone and in the frontier area of Yuchan.
AFRICA
Anadarko Petroleum has reported that the Enyenra-2A appraisal well offshore Ghana, located in the deepwater Tano licence more than four miles south and down-dip from the original Owo dis- covery well, has confirmed that Enyenra is a significant light oil field. The partnership plans to continue an active appraisal and testing pro- gramme in the Enyenra and adjacent Tweneboa fields as it advances the area toward an expected declaration of commerciality later this year. Anadarko holds an 18% working interest in the deepwater Tano licence. Tullow Oil is the operator, with a 49.95% stake. The other co-owners in the discovery are Kosmos Energy (18%), Sabre Oil & Gas (4.05%) and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (10%).
BG Group, together with Cover Energy, Pancontinental Oil & Gas, and Premier Oil Investments are in discussions with the Kenyan Ministry for Energy regarding production sharing con- tracts (PSCs) for blocks L10A and L10B offshore Kenya. A fast-track seismic and drilling programme has been pro- posed. Should the PSCs be agreed, BG would hold a 40% stake in block L10A and 45% in block L10B, with Premier holding 20% and 25% respectively, Cove Energy 25% and 15%, and Pancontinental 15% in each block.
PETROLEUMREVIEW APRIL 2011
Energy business analyst Douglas- Westwood has launched a new quarterly deepwater service to keep subscribers up-to-date with what is a dynamic and fast-moving industry. The company fore- casts a massive 79% growth in capital expenditure in this sector compared to the last five years, with $206bn to be spent on deepwater developments over the 2011–2015 period. Steve Robertson, Director, com-
mented: ‘We expect African and Latin American developments to drive the forecast growth. African developments are largely concentrated on Angola and Nigeria. Latin America is likely to expe- rience substantial growth, exceeding Africa’s deepwater expenditure towards the end of the forecast period, driven by Petrobras’ development of its Campos and Santos (pre-salt) fields off Brazil. There are some interesting prospects in North Africa, but these may be hampered in the short term by the present political uncertainties.’ ‘A large cloud of political uncertainty
also continues to sit stubbornly over the US Gulf of Mexico following the Macondo spill in 2010. Recovery is expected in the US Gulf over the next five years but, at present, activity levels are depressed and contractors continue to report that the region is difficult. The outlook for 2012 is poor, with recovery expected from 2013 onwards.
upstream Massive growth in dynamic deepwater market
There is a risk that the present adminis- tration could limit deepwater activity in favour of development of unconven- tional onshore reserves instead. Steve Kopits, Managing Director of
Douglas-Westwood in New York com- mented in a presentation to the US House of Representatives Energy Subcommittee that: ‘US Gulf of Mexico oil production has fallen significantly since Macondo and within two years of the accident it will be 35% lower – that represents a fall in overall US produc- tion of 11%. Meanwhile, unconven- tional plays such as those in the Bakken area have potential to add up to 1mn b/d or more.’ The Douglas-Westwood analysis high-
lights that drilling and completion expenditure is expected to be more than double the previous five-year period, with subsea equipment expected to see 70% rises over the same period. SURF (subsea umbilicals, risers and flowlines) and floating production sectors are also expected to see increased levels of expenditure as oper- ators require complex and highly- engineered production solutions to tap their deepwater prospects. Floating production is the principal form of development of deepwater reserves. Some 80 units are forecast to be installed over the 2011–2015 period, the majority of which will be FPSO vessels.
UK corporate manslaughter conviction
On 15 February 2011, Cotswold Geotechnical was convicted of corporate manslaughter following the death of an employee and was fined £385,000, which amounted to 115% of its turnover for the year of the accident, to be payable over 10 years. This was notwithstanding the fact that the sentencing judge considered that the fine and payment plan might well cause the company’s liquidation. Health and safety law specialist Guy Bastable, of BCL Burton Copeland, outlines the implications for directors of this ruling. The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 came into force
in April 2008, removing the necessity under the old law to identify and establish the guilt of a ‘directing mind’, a senior individual who could be said to embody the company in his actions and decisions. Instead, the Act concentrates on the way in which the organisation’s activities are managed or organised, commonly referred to as a ‘management failure’, and whether that caused the death and was a gross breach of a relevant duty of care. The Act adds to the range of offences available to the police and the CPS
(Crown Prosecution Service) when investigating/prosecuting an organisation and its employees following a fatal accident. In 2010, the Sentencing Guidelines Council issued its definitive guidelines for
sentencing organisations for corporate manslaughter or health and safety offences that cause death. The guidelines specify that fines for organisations found guilty of corporate manslaughter may be millions of pounds and should seldom be below £500,000. For health and safety offences that cause death, fines from £100,000 up to hundreds of thousands of pounds should be imposed. The guidelines provide for payment by installments, but, in the case of a large
organisation, the fine should be payable within 28 days. Bearing in mind the small size of Cotswold Geotechnical, in cases of serious
breach, large organisations can expect much larger fines, while very large organi- sations can expect fines in the millions.
5
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48