Exploration • Drilling • Field Services
in the South Georgina Basin in the Northern Territories in a joint venture project. Also in Brazil, the potential size of Karoon Gas
Australia’s Bilby-1 offshore oil discovery has been expanded with a proven oil column of 320 metres. Tis has been confirmed by pressure information and physical sampling of oil from the reservoirs. A total of seven oil samples have now been
recovered to the surface, with one opened for early oil quality assessment. Te sample has revealed 33 degree API gravity oil with the remaining samples to be sent for laboratory testing. A potential gross column of approximately
560 metres has now been established, based on the shallowest oil interval down to the proven oil water contact.
Te net oil bearing reservoir is estimated to
be approximately 70 metres. Reservoir porosity values up to 23 per cent have been interpreted from wireline logs. Te confirmed stratigraphic extent of the oil-bearing reservoirs now includes inter-bedded sands in the Eocene, Paleocene and Maastrichtian age rocks. Wireline testing of the discovery is continuing, including the coring of reservoir sections to assess reservoir porosity and permeability. Te Bilby-1 well is positioned approximately
150 metres down dip from the trap crest. Tis positioning creates potential for additional prospectivity higher in the structure where good quality water-bearing sand in the well will be above the oil water contact. Te discovery of oil in Late Cretaceous aged
reservoirs at Bilby provides additional confidence in the other prospects within Karoon’s Brazilian exploration blocks; the company previously discovered oil in the Kangaroo 1 well, completed in January this year, in Eocene sandstones with a follow up appraisal well expected to be drilled later this year.
Vietnam looks to natural gas Gazprom and Petrovietnam have signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in natural gas production and its use as a motor fuel. In particular, the memorandum stipulates that
efforts will be taken to convert Ho Chi Minh public transport to natural gas. A joint Russian-Vietnamese venture - Vietgazprom - has been established as part of the project. Te joint venture is already engaged in
hydrocarbons prospecting and exploration in block No.112 of Vietnam’s continental shelf (Fig. 1). As a result of the geological exploration performed in 2007, the Bao Vang gas and condensate field was discovered. In 2009 natural gas reserves were also
discovered in the adjacent Bao Den area. A long-term oil and gas contract is currently in
force between Gazprom and Petrovietnam for blocks No.129, 130, 131, 132 on the continental shelf of the Republic of Vietnam. Te new memorandum stipulates hydrocarbons exploration, development and production in these blocks. Meanwhile Gazprom and Petrovietnam will continue the joint operations that they have been undertaking since 2009 in the Vietnamese offshore blocks. Te two will also study future prospects for cooperation in vacant Vietnamese licensed blocks. Te new agreement also includes active
partnership between Gazprom and Petrovietnam in oil and gas projects in Russia, Vietnam and in third countries. In other news Europa Oil & Gas has received
Irish government consent for the transfer of interest and operatorship for its two licensing options LO 11/7 and LO 11/8, which cover approximately 2000 km2
Basin in the Irish Atlantic Margin, to a subsidiary of the independent oil and gas exploration and production company Kosmos Energy. .
3D seismic programme As a result Kosmos now holds an 85 per cent interest in, and has assumed operatorship of both licences with Europa holding the remaining 15 per cent. Under the terms of the farm-in Kosmos will fully fund the costs of a 3D seismic programme on each licence and pay 85 per cent of costs incurred by Europa to date.
Contingent upon a decision by the companies to enter into a subsequent exploration drilling phase on one or both of the licensing option areas, Kosmos will also incur 100 per cent of the costs of the first exploration well on each option. Te first exploration wells on LO 11/7 and LO 11/8 have investment caps of US$90 million (€68 million) and US$110 million (€83 million) respectively. Costs in excess of the investment cap would be shared between Kosmos (85 per cent) and Europa (15 per cent). Kosmos, in conjunction with Europa, will now submit an application to the Irish government to convert each licence into a 15-year frontier exploration licence. Europa’s ceo Hugh Mackay said: “Te
recent announcements by ExxonMobil of the commencement of drilling on the nearby Dunquin prospect and by Cairn Energy regarding their farm- in to three licences in the North Porcupine basin indicate that we are entering an important period in offshore Ireland oil and gas exploration, in which Europa will be playing a key role.” ●
www.engineerlive.com 19
in the highly prospective South Porcupine
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 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100