Exploration • Drilling • Field Services
produces hydrocarbons in the Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippian Lime. Te company currently employs a staff of 380 in the country. Repsol has significantly increased its exploration
investment in recent years, acquiring acreage in 14 new countries since 2004. Te result of this greater exploratory activity and success is much higher reserve addition rates than the industry average, along with a significant increase in production. Repsol posted a reserve replacement ratio of 204 per cent in 2012. To this end, the company expects to dedicate
around 80 per cent of its €19.1 billion programmed investment over the coming five-year period to exploration and production. In other news, Sound Oil, the Europe-focused
upstream oil and gas company, has provided an operations update on the Nervesa appraisal well, onshore Italy.
Te company has been advised by the owner of the contracted Drilltec TB2100S drilling rig that the rig has reached total depth at its current location in the Netherlands. Te well will now be completed, after which the rig will mobilise to Italy where spud of the well is expected shortly. Sound Oil has also published an update on its
Badile project, located onshore in the Po Valley in Northern Italy. Badile is an exploration prospect some 45 km south-west from the geologically analogous Malossa gas field and has been independently assessed low-best-high prospective resources of 47-175-938 billion standard cubic feet (bscf) respectively in Upper Triassic reservoirs. Following the decision to retain Sound Oil’s 100 per cent operated position (and therefore the
Tullow success in East Africa F
rom Southern Ethiopia’s South Omo block, Tullow Oil reports
that its Sabisa-1 well has been drilled to a total depth of 1810 metres. Hydrocarbon indications in sands beneath a thick claystone top seal have been recorded whilst drilling, but hole instability issues have required the drilling of a sidetrack to comprehensively log and sample these zones of interest. Te sidetrack recently commenced and a result is expected very shortly. Tullow (with 50 per cent) is the operator of this well with Africa Oil (30 per cent) and Marathon Oil (20 per cent) having the other interests.
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significant upside of this prospect), the company has completed the technical work required for the drilling application and an environmental impact assessment (EIA). As a result of this technical work the company has made the following enhancements to the detailed Badile drilling programme: reduction in target depth from 5300 metres to 4200 metres targeting only the Upper Triassic Dolomia Conchodon reservoir without significantly reducing the likelihood of encountering hydrocarbons; a shorter period required for drilling (down from an estimated 164 days to 143 days) resulting in significantly lower costs (from €20 million to €18 million); associated reduction in drilling complexity due to lower expected pressures and temperatures; and increased likelihood of gas- condensate occurrence in the target section. James Parsons, Sound Oil’s chief executive officer, commented: “Tis positive re-framing of the Badile drilling programme is an important step forward for the company which will lower the technical complexity of the well, shorten its drilling time, lower costs and increase well deliverability in the case of success. In addition, we expect that the revised
programme objectives will accelerate the approval of the well by the various permitting authorities without compromising the economic proposition for shareholders.” Te drilling request and EIA will be submitted
shortly in anticipation of spud in 2014. Exploration company Premier has issued results
from the testing of the Matang gas discovery on Block A Aceh (Premier equity 41.67 per cent) in Indonesia.
Meanwhile, at the Ngamia-1 well
in Block 10BB in Kenya, the first of six drill stem tests has now been completed. Te test was carried out in the Lower Lokhone formation. Te well flowed 281 barrels of 30 degree API oil per day using a progressive cavity pump. Te other tests will be carried out in the Auwerwer reservoirs (formerly Upper Lokhone) which produced very well in the recent tests at the Twiga South-1 well. Te mobilisation of the drilling rig from Paipai in Block 10A to the Etuko (previously Kamba) location in Block 10BB in Kenya continues on schedule
with drilling underway. Tullow operates the Ngamia-1 well and Africa Oil (50 per cent) has a non-operated interest.
Angus McCoss, exploration
director of Tullow Oil, commented: “Te Sabisa-1 well has proved to be technically challenging, as is often the case in frontier basins, and the well now requires a side-track to re-drill, log and sample the objective section. Te results from the first flow test at Ngamia are also very encouraging and prove the first potentially commercial flow from the Lower Lokhone reservoir section.” ●
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