Exploration discoveries
Asia. Hoang Long Joint Operating Co. made a gas discovery offshore Vietnam in the Cuu Long basin with its TGD-1X (Te Giac Den) exploration well. The well was drilled on Block 16-1 and found pay in two Oligocene sandstone intervals on a structure that covers 11.6 sq mi. Apache Corp.’s Julimar East-1 exploratory/appraisal well in Australia’s Carnarvon basin tested two reservoir intervals at a combined rate of 85 MMcfd of gas. The well logged 224 ft of net gas pay in six sandstone reservoirs of the Triassic Mungaroo formation. This represents a 70% increase in net pay from the company’s April 2007 Julimar-1 discovery well. Recoverable reserves for the Julimar complex could exceed 1 Tcf of gas. Reliance Industries made an oil and gas discovery in the deepwater sector of the Cauvery basin off India’s southeast coast in Block CY-DWN-2001/2 (CY-D5). The well tested 1,000 bopd and 30 MMcfgd and was drilled to a 3,937-ft TD in 4,000-ft deep water.
Africa. Chevron made a major oil discovery in Block 14 offshore in the Cabinda portion of Angola. The Malange-1 well tested 7,669 bopd over 212 net ft of pay in the Cretaceous Pinda reservoir. Just north of Chevron’s Cabinda discovery, Total found oil in its Mer Tres Profonde Sud Block, 106 mi offshore of the Republic of the Congo in water depth of about 6,550 ft. The Cassiopee Est Marine-1 discovery well was drilled to a 10,827-ft TD and tested 5,600 bopd. This is the fourth oil discovery in the permit area.
Farther south in Block 32, offshore Angola, Total made an oil discovery in 5,577 ft of water. The Colorau-1 tested 2,130 bopd from an upper Oligocene reservoir. It is the 11th discovery to date in Block 32. Roc Oil made an oil discovery with its Massambala-1 exploration well drilled in the Cabinda South Block, onshore Angola. The shallow discovery found pay between 1,293 and 1,421 ft, with 59 ft of net sand that averaged 27% porosity. In Nigeria, Shell’s Aghata-1 well flowed oil at up to 5,000 bpd. The discovery is in the onshore, eastern Niger Delta in Shell’s OML 17. The well was drilled to a 15,154-ft TD and encountered 804 ft of hydrocarbon-bearing reservoirs. Addax Petroleum discovered oil and gas in the Ofrima North structure, and gas in the Udele West structure, both located in OML 137, offshore Nigeria. The Ofrima-2 well found a 140 ft of oil and gas pay at a depth of about 7,000 ft in four separate zones. The Udele-2 well encountered seven gas-bearing pay intervals, with net thickness of 542 ft at depths ranging from 2,700 to 5,900 ft. The OML137 Block is about 31 mi from the planned Brass LNG terminal. Verenex Energy has made a second oil discovery in the Ghadames basin of Libya in Area 47 with its B1-47/2 wildcat, drilled 376 mi south of Tripoli. The well tested 2,414 bopd from the Lower Acacus Formation. Elsewhere. China (CNPC) announced a commercial oil discovery on its Block H concession in Chad, but no details were provided. Iasland Oil & Gas’ gas appraisal well 57/2-3 in the Celtic Sea, offshore southern Ireland in Block 5/05, successfully tested 21 MMcfd from Upper Wealden reservoirs between 2,332 and 2,599 ft. The well found a 292-ft gas column, which was sufficient to pursue a development scenario for the Schull, Old Head and West Seven Heads gasfields.
Chevron’s West of Shetland area Rosebank appraisal well flowed 6,000 bopd on production tests. The well was drilled in Block 205/1 in the UK North Sea, 99 mi northwest of the Shetlands. It is the second of three appraisals planned at Rosebank field, believed to have reserves of about 530 MMboe. Helix Energy Solutions has made a second discovery in the US Gulf of Mexico’s Garden Banks Block 506, about 145 mi offshore Galveston, Texas, in 2,700-ft water depth. The reserve potential of the discovery is about 50-Bcf equivalent, according to the company. Petrominerales’ Corcel-1 well in the Llanos basin of Colombia tested initial rates of 970 to 1,200 bopd from a 40-ft interval in the Guadalupe Formation. The company said that the well may be capable of producing up to 2,500 bopd from the well’s total indicated net pay of 140 ft in both the Guadalupe and Mirador formations.
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