World news
8 |
Oilfield Technology
June
2015
June 2015
Faroe petroleum announces Bister well results
Faroe Petroleum, the independent oil and gas company focusing principally on exploration,
appraisal and production opportunities in Norway and the UK, has announced that drilling
has reached target depth on the Statoil operated Bister exploration well in the Norwegian Sea
(Faroe 7.5%).
The Bister exploration well 6407/8‑7 spudded on 27 April 2015 and reached total vertical
depth of 2990 m below sea level in the Åre Jurassic formation. This was followed by side‑track
6407/8‑7A which was drilled to a total vertical depth of 2770 m below sea level. The well and
side‑track targeted hydrocarbons in the Jurassic, Ile, Tilje and Åre formations (analogous to
the Hyme oilfield and Snilehorn reservoirs) and whilst good quality reservoirs were confirmed,
no hydrocarbons were encountered at this location.
The Bister prospect is located in the Norwegian Sea in Licence PL 348/C, which is adjacent
to the 2013 Snilehorn discovery (PL 348B) and nearby the producing Njord field and Hyme
field (PL 348) (all Faroe 7.5%) and the results from the well will be used to calibrate the
seismic interpretations in the licence, which still contains promising exploration targets.
Statoil Petroleum AS is the operator of the PL348 licences and the Njord field.
The Bister well was operated by Statoil (35%) using the Transocean Spitsbergen drilling
rig with partners GDF SUEZ E&P Norge AS (15%), E.ON E&P Norge AS (17.5%), Core Energy AS
(22.5%) and VNG Norge AS (2.5%) and will now be plugged and abandoned as planned.
Graham Stewart, Chief Executive of Faroe Petroleum commented: “Whilst the results for the
Bister exploration well are disappointing, this was an opportunity to add further resources to
an already resource rich licence, which includes the producing Hyme field and the significant
2013 Snilehorn discovery.”
FEI & Weatherford enter
joint agreement
FEI and Weatherford Laboratories have
entered into a joint agreement to offer
advanced reservoir characterisation
services to the oil and gas industry. The
two companies will work together to
create new workflows that integrate
Weatherford’s traditional core analysis and
FEI’s digital rock imaging, modelling and
interpretation.
These integrated solutions will address
challenges associated with enhanced
recovery, formation damage, multi‑phase
fluid property prediction and wettability
characterisation.
Mark Knackstedt PhD, Director of
Product Development for FEI’s oil and gas
business, commented on the deal: “By
combining the results, we should improve
reservoir characterisation and help
operators understand reservoir behaviour
and recovery mechanisms – ultimately
reducing their risk and increasing
their ability to make better informed
development and production decisions.”
Wintershall: Maria field
PDO submitted
Wintershall has submitted a plan for
development and operation (PDO) for
the Maria field in the Norwegian Sea to
the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and
Energy. This is the first time Wintershall, as
operator of the field, has submitted a PDO
for a Norwegian development.
The solution for the Maria field
involves two subsea templates located on
the ocean floor tied back to several host
platforms in the area.
“By applying this [...] solution we
make the development and production of
the field possible – even in a challenging
oil price environment. We are continuing
to invest in profitable projects in our
core business and core areas”, said
Martin Bachmann, Member of the Board of
Executive Directors.
Investments in the Maria development
are estimated at around NOK 15.3 billion
(100%), including development drilling.
Recoverable reserves on the field are
estimated around 180 million boe.
Roxi Petroleum continues
sale of Galaz assets
Roxi Petroleum, the Central Asian
oil and gas company with a focus on
Kazakhstan, has announced that the sale
of the its equity and debt interests in
the Galaz Contract Area to a consortium
led by Xinjiang Zhundong Petroleum
Technology Co., a Chinese publicly traded
conglomerate, is proceeding as planned
and is now expected to complete by
31 May 2015.
Following the recent rise in the price
of Brent crude, the total proceeds of Galaz
Disposal will now be US$100 million and
the net proceeds attributable to Roxi will
now be approximately US$23 million.
US$2 million of the aggregate purchase
consideration will be retained by the
purchaser for a period of 12 months to
cover warranty claims individually greater
than US$50 000. Roxi’s share of this
retention will be US$0.68 million.
The proceeds of the Galaz Disposal will
fund all of the planned development in
2015 at its flagship asset BNG.
Jee secures contract for
EOR project
Jee Ltd has been awarded a contract from
Amec Foster Wheeler for the front end
engineering design (FEED) of a jacket rigid
polymer injection riser package (including
J‑tubes) as part of an enhanced oil
recovery (EOR) field development.
The pilot project will demonstrate
the use of polymer chemical injection
technology, a pioneering new technique
to maximise the economic recovery of
UK hydrocarbon reserves. A new platform
development for EOR is a world first.
The project will utilise ground‑breaking
technologies including 4D seismic imaging,
horizontal drilling and pump technology.
Development drilling is expected to take
place from 2015 until 2020.
Jonathan McGregor, Head of
Engineering at Jee, said: “We are delighted
to support this pioneering North Sea pilot
project.”
