Statoil comes up dry with Dilolo-1 well in Angola

The Dilolo-1 exploration well in block 39 offshore Angola in the Kwanza basin was drilled to its pre-salt target. The first drilling operation in block 39 has now been completed. In this first well hydrocarbons were not encountered, but the operation did provide a valuable calibration for other prospects in the area. Further studies are needed in order to fully understand the well results. The well is now in the process of being plugged and abandoned. The ‘Stena Carron’ drillship will soon move to block 38 to spud the exploration well Jacaré-1.The Angolan pre-salt is a frontier play where Statoil will participate in eight commitment wells across five blocks.

Statoil takes financial hit to cancel 'Stena Carron' contract

Statoil has decided to cancel the Stena Carron rig contract after fulfilling the work commitments in the Statoil-operated blocks 38 and 39 in the Kwanza basin offshore Angola. The rig contract which was originally due to last until June 2017 will cease with effect from 21st November 2014. Statoil’s first well results from the area have been disappointing and although the company still sees remaining prospectivity in the basin and on the Statoil acreage, more time is needed to evaluate the well results and mature new prospects before deciding on future activities. The first two Statoil-operated wells in this pre-salt play, Dilolo and Jacaré, have been drilled safely and very efficiently. These two wells also fulfil the drilling commitments on these two blocks. The Jacaré well in block 38 has now been plugged and abandoned. Statoil is participating in eight commitment wells across five blocks in the Kwanza basin. So far four wells have been completed and one well is ongoing in block 40 operated by Total. The costs of terminating the operations and associated services including the Stena Carron rig contract will be onerous contract and expensed in fourth quarter amounting to approximately USD 350 million. The 2014 guiding for organic exploration expenditures of USD 3.5 billion remains, including the Jacaré well cost in Block 38, which will be expensed in fourth quarter. In addition it is expected that the signature bonus in block 38 will be impaired.

'Stena DrillMAX' spuds Starfish-1 well

Tap Oil Limited (“TAP”) is pleased to advise that at 0820 hours Perth time on 19th June 2013, the Stena DrillMAX, Dual Derrick Drillship commenced drilling the Starfish-1 oil exploration well in the Offshore Accra Contract Area, Ghana. The well will target a large stratigraphic trap in the deep water of eastern Ghana, interpreted to be potentially comparable to the Jubilee oil field in western Ghana. Tap estimates that the well will target prospective resources potentially half a billion barrels, (431 mmbbls (P50)). The Starfish prospect is located in the Offshore Accra Contract Area in offshore Ghana along the prolific offshore West African Margin. The Starfish prospect was matured following reprocessing of the original 3D seismic data and the acquisition of the new 3D survey in 2011 over the outboard deep water area. The Contract Area is now covered by quality 3D seismic data. In the event of a discovery at Starfish-1 confirming a significant petroleum system, there are a number of other leads and prospects identified on the block that would be of interest. The Operator, Ophir Energy, continues to work on the existing lead and prospect inventory. The well will be drilled as a vertical well in a water depth of 1,500 metres and is expected to take 35 days (trouble free) to drill to a proposed total depth of 4,560 metres. Tap’s cost for the well is expected to be approximately A$11.6 million.

Tap Oil releases starfish-1 drilling update

Tap Oil Limited (“TAP”) provides the following update of the Starfish-1 oil exploration well in the Offshore Accra Contract Area, Ghana. During the period from 1400 hours (AWST) on 19 June 2013 to 1400 hours (AWST) on 25 June 2013 the well was drilled to a depth of 2,627 metres. The 20” (508mm) casing was run and set at 2,218 metres and the BOPs were installed, prior to drilling ahead in the 17½” (444.5mm) hole section.

Tap Oil releases second starfish-1 drilling update

Tap Oil Limited (“TAP”) provides the following update of the Starfish-1 oil exploration well in the Offshore Accra Contract Area, Ghana. During the period from 1400 hours (AWST) on 25 June 2013 to 1400 hours (AWST) on 2 July 2013 the 17½” (444.5mm) hole section was drilled to final total depth. The 13?” (340mm) casing was run and set at 3,035 metres and the well drilled ahead in the 12¼” (311mm) hole section to 3,695 metres.

Starfish-1 well reaches TD in Ghana

Tap Oil Limited (“TAP”) provides the following update of the Starfish-1 oil exploration well in the Offshore Accra Contract Area, Ghana. During the period from 1400 hours (AWST) on 2 July 2013 to 1400 hours (AWST) on 9 July 2013, Starfish-1 was drilled to a final total depth of 4,380 metres. Wireline logging operations were undertaken to evaluate the hydrocarbon potential of the primary target. The Operator has commenced its preliminary analysis. Tap’s preliminary interpretation of the wireline logs and MDT data is that no movable hydrocarbons have been encountered in the well, based on the current data.

Tap Oil releases final starfish-1 well update

Tap Oil Limited (“TAP”) provides the following update of the Starfish-1 oil exploration well in the Offshore Accra Contract Area, Ghana. In the period since 1400 hours (AWST) on 9th July 2013, wireline logging operations were completed and the well is being abandoned ahead of the rig being released. There will be no further weekly reports on the well. Logs have confirmed the presence of a gross 230m sandstone interval in the primary target interval although the logs show these to be water wet. The secondary target contained poorly developed sands which were also water-bearing. The Joint Venture will continue to evaluate all data from the well in order to re-assess the overall block prospectivity ahead of the 23 September 2013 election date to enter into Phase 2. This will include further examination of what Tap considers to be possible evidence of residual oil in the secondary and primary targets. Any such evidence may provide further support for an active petroleum system in the block.

Apache spuds Suriname well

Apache Suriname Corp. LDC, a subsidiary of Apache Corp. (“Apache”), has started its drilling operations in Block 53 utilizing Stena’s DrillMax drillship. It’s the first time that a 6th generation drillship has operated in offshore Suriname. This dynamically positioned drillship has a length of 228 meters and is 42 meters wide. The Popokai (Parrot)-1wild cat will be drilled in 1,492 meters of water and lies approximately 200 kilometres from the Surinamese coast line.

Shell spuds Deep Sleep prospect in US Gulf of Mexico

Freeport-McMoRan Oil & Gas Inc (“Freeport”) has announced that its partner Shell has commenced drilling at the Deep Sleep prospect in blocks 18 and 19 of the Atwater Valley area. Shell spudded the well in 4,253ft of water and plans to drill down to depths of 31,700ft. The drilling is being conducted from the Stena IceMax drillship, which Shell plans to send to Canada for drilling operations in the 2nd half of 2015.

Stena Carron Contract with Esso

Stena Carron Drilling Limited (UK Company) has been awarded a drilling contract by Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (Guyana Company) for Stena Carron. The contract is for a period of one year at $235 000/day plus 1 priced six month option with further options to be agreed at market rate. The unit has started mobilization to location and plan commencement end of January 2016.

The PSA has given Statoil consent to use the Stena Don mobile drilling facility for drilling and completion of wells 35/11-B-22 and B-13

Stena Don is operated by Stena Drilling, and is a Sonat/Hitachi-designed, semi-submersible drilling facility, built in 2001. The facility received Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) in March 2002. Fram is an oil field in the northern North Sea around 20 kilometres north of Troll. Water depth in the area is around 350 metres. The Petroleum Safety Authority Norway has now granted consent to use Stena Don on the Fram field in accordance with Statoil's application.

CNSOPB permits resumption of drilling with conditions

The Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board (CNSOPB) today permitted Shell Canada to resume drilling with restrictions at its Cheshire L-97 exploration well. Drilling was halted on March 5th after an operations incident on the Stena IceMAX drillship. After securing the exploration well with two barriers and successfully disconnecting to ride out heavy weather, the riser was accidentally dropped to the seafloor. No one was injured and no well fluids or synthetic oil-based drilling fluids were spilled to the environment. The CNSOPB review confirmed that the crew of the Stena IceMAX appropriately prepared for heavy weather in the days leading up to the incident on March 5th by suspending drilling, installing two barriers to secure the well (a downhole plug and the closing of the Blowout Preventer, BOP), and displacing drilling fluids in the riser to sea water. When vessel motion exceeded the operational limits, the decision was made to disconnect and ride out the weather with the riser attached to the vessel through the tensioner riser system, a standard procedure. To maximize the distance between the bottom of the riser and the BOP so as to protect the integrity of the well, the tensioner system holding the riser was fully retracted. The key factors in the cause of the incident were the heave of the vessel andthe inability of the riser tensioner system to compensate for the difference in the movement between the riser and the vessel with the tensioner system in a fully retracted position and with the Riser Anti-Recoil System (RARS) inactive. For the past three months the CNSOPB has thoroughly reviewed the incident and investigation report. It engaged independent, outside, world-class expertise in deep-water drilling to provide additional oversight. Aberdeen Drilling Management (ADM) worked with the CNSOPB in the review of the incident, the work procedures, the investigation report and an assurance plan that CNSOPB required from Shell Canada, to determine whether drilling can be safely resumed, and, if so, under what conditions. “This has been a rigorous and exhaustive review of the incident,” says CNSOPB CEO Stuart Pinks. “We are satisfied that the cause of the incident has been properly determined and that appropriate corrective actions have been taken so that drilling may resume safely. As an additional safeguard, the CNSOPB has introduced a condition further tightening operating limits under which drilling may occur.” Until such time as the CNSOPB completes further reviews, Shell Canada is required to lower its well disconnect criteria on the Stena IceMax based on vessel heave of five metres. The previous criteria was eight metres. Before permitting a return to drilling the CNSOPB sought and received assurance on a number of matters arising from the review of the incident and the investigation report. These included: Equipment – That all repaired and replacement equipment is certified, installed, commissioned, tested and compliant. Procedures – That procedures and operational criteria are reviewed and amended, where applicable, with specific focus on updated disconnect procedures and the use of weather forecasting. Training and competency – That people are trained and fully aware of changes to procedures, their roles and responsibilities, and are specifically aware of weather related disconnect criteria. In addition, disconnect drills and simulations are conducted to ensure that personnel in positions critical to the disconnect process are fully conversant with revised procedures. Risk Management – That a review of the incident investigation findings and learnings related to equipment, work procedures, and personnel competency be conducted to ensure risks are ALARP (as low as reasonably practicable). Pinks says the CNSOPB continues to review the incident, including the investigation report, to determine if future regulatory actions or changes are required. No decisions have yet been made with respect to the riser that remains on the seafloor.

Stena Don Stacked in Norway

Stena Drilling has selected Semco Maritime’s facilities at Hanøytangen for a warm stacking of the offshore drilling rig Stena Don. The rig will be warm stacked at the Hanøytangen yard in Bergen, ready for future work, explains Business Development Manager Øistein Tømte, Semco Maritime. Stena Don arrived at the yard 16 November and has previously been on a contract in the Troll field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. Stena Don is a class 3 semi-submersible rig built in 2001, and has recently been upgraded with a modern equipment package. The harsh environment rig is suitable for drilling, completion and workover operations worldwide. “Hanøytangen’s facilities include both wet dock and dry dock, which are tailored for assignments such as this where a rig arrives for a brief stopover, a Compliance Renewal survey or large-scale upgrade work before returning to operations,” says Øistein Tømte. The well-equipped dock facilities at Hanøytangen comprise several dock areas, including a dry dock of 116x125 meters and quay areas with depths of at least 100 meters. The dockyard is fitted with modern equipment for repair and handling of rigs, rig gear and other very large elements on water and land, including crane capacity at all docking areas.

Licence Update Frontier Exploration Licence 2/14 Southern Porcupine Basin

Providence Resources P.l.c. (PVR LN, PRP ID), the Irish based Oil and Gas Exploration Company, provides an update on the Frontier Exploration Licence (”FEL”) 2/14, which lies in c. 2,250 metre water depth in the southern Porcupine Basin and is located c. 220 kilometres off the south west coast of Ireland. The licence is operated by Providence Resources P.l.c. (“Providence”, 80%) on behalf of its partner Sosina Exploration Limited (“Sosina”, 20%), who are collectively referred to the “JV Partners”. FEL 2/14 contains the Paleocene “Druid” and the Lower Cretaceous “Drombeg” exploration prospects. The Minister of State for the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment has given his consent to the progression to the second phase of the licence, subject to the completion of the agreed work programme which includes the drilling of the 53/6-A exploration well on the Paleocene Druid prospect and the subsequent integration of the well data into a comprehensive assessment of the petroleum potential of the licence. In November 2016, the Company signed a drilling contract for the provision of the Stena IceMAX drill-ship to drill an exploration well in FEL 2/14 during 2017. The drilling contract provides for one firm well, plus an additional option, which is electable at the discretion of the JV Partners for the drilling of a second follow -on well. Other key service contracts are now being finalized for the drilling operations for the planned 53/6-A exploration well. Based on the latest project timeline and, subject to standard regulatory approvals and consents, the 53/6-A exploration well is currently planned to spud in June 2017.

ExxonMobil Announces New Oil Discoveries Offshore Guyana

ExxonMobil announced today positive results from its Payara-1 well offshore Guyana. Payara is ExxonMobil’s second oil discovery on the Stabroek Block and was drilled in a new reservoir. The Payara-1 well targeted similar aged reservoirs that were proven successful at the company’s Liza discovery. “This important discovery further establishes the area as a significant exploration province,” said Steve Greenlee, president of ExxonMobil Exploration Company. “We look forward to working with the government and our co-venturers to continue evaluating broader exploration potential on the block and the greater Liza area.” The well was drilled by ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited, and encountered more than 95 feet (29 meters) of high-quality, oil-bearing sandstone reservoirs. It was safely drilled to 18,080 feet (5,512 meters) in 6,660 feet (2,030 meters) of water. The Payara field discovery is about 10 miles (16 km) northwest of the 2015 Liza discovery. In addition to the Payara discovery, appraisal drilling at Liza-3 has identified an additional high quality, deeper reservoir directly below the Liza field, which is estimated to contain between 100-150 million oil equivalent barrels. This additional resource is currently being evaluated for development in conjunction with the world-class Liza discovery. “These latest exploration successes are examples of ExxonMobil’s technological capabilities in ultra-deepwater environments, which will enable effective development of the resource for the benefit of the people of Guyana and our shareholders,” Greenlee said. Drilling on Payara began on Nov. 12 with initial total depth reached on Dec. 2. Two sidetracks have been drilled to rapidly evaluate the discovery, and a well test is underway to further evaluate the successful well results. The well data will be analyzed in the coming months to better determine the full resource potential. The Stabroek Block is 6.6 million acres (26,800 square kilometers). Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited is operator and holds 45 percent interest in the Stabroek Block. Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd. holds 30 percent interest and CNOOC Nexen Petroleum Guyana Limited holds 25 percent interest.

CHC Wins Contract with Providence Resources PLC

CHC Group (the "Company" or "CHC") today announced it has signed a new contract with Providence Resources plc ("Providence") to provide helicopter services in support of its Exploration well program on the Druid/Drombeg prospect in Frontier Exploration Licence 2/14 of the southern Porcupine Basin, Offshore Ireland, some 215 kilometers off the southwest coast of Ireland. The contract will see a dedicated Sikorsky S-92 flying out of Cork Airport beginning this June and will once again see CHC work in conjunction with Lloyd’s Register ("LR") as the wells project management company."We are delighted that Providence and LR have, once again, selected CHC as its aviation partner," said Mark Abbey, CHC Regional Director for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). "With our extensive experience transporting offshore workers in the oil and gas industry, dedication to safety, and reputation for the highest quality service, we look forward to building on our relationship with the Providence team in Ireland,""This is a great continuation of our relationship with both Providence and LR," added Karl Fessenden, President and CEO of CHC Helicopter. "We look forward to supporting this operation and providing the global standards for safety, logistical support and efficiency that customers around the world expect from CHC."

Senegal SNE-6 Appraisal Well result

Cairn is pleased to announce the results of another successful appraisal well offshore Senegal. Rig performance continues to be excellent and operations have been safely and successfully completed ahead of schedule and under budget following drilling, logging and drill stem testing (DST). The objective of the SNE-6 well, together with the previous successful SNE-5 well, was to flow oil from one of the principal units in the upper (400 series) reservoirs and demonstrate connectivity between the two wells. Pressure data from SNE-6 immediately confirmed good connectivity with SNE-5 and accordingly a short DST was performed. SNE-6 is being plugged and abandoned and the Stena DrillMAX drill ship is moving location to commence operations at the FAN SOUTH exploration well, ~20km south west of the SNE-3 well in ~2,175m water depth. FAN SOUTH is targeting a mean prospective resource of more than 110 mmbbls with dual prospects; an Upper Cretaceous stacked multi-layer channelized turbidite fan prospect and a Lower Cretaceous base of slope turbidite fan prospect, which is equivalent to the FAN-1 2014 oil discovery.

FAN South-1 Well Spud

The Cairn operated FAN South-1 exploration well has commenced drilling. The well is being drilled in 2,139 meters of water to an expected total depth of 5,317 meters below the mudline. The Stena Drillmax drillship is completing the well.

53/6-A Well Starts Drilling on the Porcupine Basin

Providence Resources has announced that the 53/6-A exploration well on the FEL 2/14 license began drilling on the 11 July. The well is being drilled by the Stena IceMax harsh environment drillship.

Well result – Zaedyus-2, offshore French Guiana

Following speculation in the French press, Tullow Oil plc (Tullow) announces that the Zaedyus-2 appraisal well (GM-ES-2), offshore French Guiana, has completed drilling. The well, drilled 5km up-dip from the Zaedyus-1 well, encountered a total of 85 metres of reservoir quality sands with oil shows in several objectives but did not encounter commercial hydrocarbons at this location. Results of drilling, logging and sampling to date have shown that the reservoirs at this location are not in communication with Zaedyus-1. Integration of information obtained from the two wells with the 3D seismic data suggests the reservoirs are geologically separated from Zaedyus-1. As Zaedyus-2 is up-dip and disconnected from Zaedyus-1, this result has no bearing on the bulk of the undrilled prospectivity which is located downdip of Zaedyus-1. Future drilling on the Zaedyus fan system should therefore target the significant upside in the Zaedyus down-dip prospects and the down-dip elements of Zaedyus Deep. The Zaedyus-2 well was drilled in the Guyane Maritime licence using the Stena DrillMax Dynamically Positioned Drillship. The well was drilled in water depths of 1,894 metres and has been drilled to a depth of 6,200 metres and logging operations are ongoing. The second well in this four-well programme is Priodontes-1, targeting an adjacent prospect within the same Cingulata fan system, and is expected to commence drilling in early December. Tullow has a 27.5% stake in the Guyane Maritime licence and is partnered by Shell, who are operator and hold a 45% stake, Total (25%) and Northpet (2.5%), a company owned 50% by Northern Petroleum plc and 50% by Wessex Exploration plc.

Fregate-1 exploration well to be plugged and abandoned following evaluation

The Fregate-1 exploration well being drilled in Block 7, offshore Mauritania, is being plugged and abandoned at a depth of 5,426m MD BRT. The well discovered gas-condensate and oil pay in multiple thin, but good quality sands within the Lower Cormoran (Santonian) and in the first primary target Petronia (Santonian to Coniacian) intervals. However, the deeper primary target (Fregate Main) contained only a minor hydrocarbon column. The results are being evaluated. Fregate-1 has confirmed the potential of the Late Cretaceous turbidite reservoirs which were proven to contain light oil in Block 7 by the Aigrette-1 well (Dana, 2006) and gas and gas-condensate by Pelican-1 (Dana, 2003) and Cormoran-1 (Dana, 2010) and extended the Block 7 oil province into the south of the block.

Stena Don coming to Sandnes

The drilling rig Stena Don, which has been contracted by Statoil, is en route from the Kværner shipyard in Warnow, Germany, to the Offshore & Marine yard in Sandnes. The newbuilding left Warnow on Saturday 18 August, and will take around 7 to 10 days to complete the journey. Stena Don will be fitted with bow propellers and be tested in the Gands Fjord near Sandnes, south of Stavanger. Statoil has entered a five-year contract with Stena Drilling and expects the rig to be handed over sometime in the autumn. It has not yet been decided where the rig will operate. The rig is being transported on a barge until it has cleared the Øresund bridge between Sweden and Denmark. It will then be taken off the barge and towed to Sandnes, reports project manager Arne Jacobsen in Statoil's rig management unit. Stena Don is one of the latest generation of rigs. It is equipped with dynamic positioning and will not get in the way of flowlines or pipelines. The rig will therefore be very efficient, adds Mr Jacobsen. Stena Don can be used for most operations within exploration and production drilling, including well maintenance. It has been constructed to operate in winter conditions in northern waters.

Taking over Stena Don

Statoil has taken over the new drilling rig, Stena Don. The five-year operations contract with the Stena Drilling shipping company is thereby realised. Stena Don has received the approval of the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate and Statoil, and is today, 21 December, leaving the Offshore & Marine shipyard in Sandnes en route to the Halten Bank. To begin with the rig will be operating in the Norne area, and the first well will be drilled on the Stær prospect. The rig should be in position on the field on Monday. This rig is one of the most modern drilling rigs in the world. It has a dynamic positioning system, which means that it can hold its position without the use of anchors. It can therefore be moved quickly from one drilling location to another without the risk of coming into conflict with subsea facilities.

Stena Don heading north

Statoil will use the state-of-the-art drilling rig Stena Don on the Halten Bank when the rig is handed over from Stena Drilling this autumn. The rig will be used to drill exploration and production wells in the area in the course of next year. Stena Don’s first assignment will be to drill an exploration well in the Stær prospect near the Svale find. The drilling programme for the rig has only been clarified for the first year, but Statoil plans to contract Stena Don for five years. The rig will also be used for maintenance of subsea wells, reports Arne Jacobsen, project manager in the rig management unit in Exploration & Production Norway. The contract is an important step in the modernisation of Statoil’s rig portfolio: This rig represents a new generation of drilling and completion rigs. It has a dynamic positioning system, which means that it can hold its position without the use of anchors. It can therefore be moved quickly to a new location without the risk of coming into conflict with subsea equipment,” says Mr Jacobsen. Stena Don was named in a ceremony at the Offshore & Marine yard in Sandnes on Saturday 20 October.

Tullow come up dry with Mauritania well

Tullow Oil plc (Tullow) today announces that the Tapendar-1 exploration well in the C-10 licence, offshore Mauritania, has not encountered hydrocarbons and the well is being plugged and abandoned. Tapendar-1 is the second exploration well in Tullow’s Mauritania exploration campaign, following the Frégate-1 well in February 2014. The objective of Tapendar-1 was to test two targets of Miocene and Upper Cretaceous age. At the Miocene interval a major undrilled turbidite fairway was penetrated and encountered excellent quality, well developed, reservoir sands. However, these sands were water bearing at this location. The deeper Upper Cretaceous target tested a salt flank play, which at this location, did not encounter any sands. The well reached total depth of 3,752 metres and is currently being plugged and abandoned after which the Stena DrillMax drill ship will leave Mauritania. Tullow has a significant exploration position offshore Mauritania. A variety of exploration prospects and plays, independent of the Tapendar and Frégate results, remain highly prospective. Data from the Frégate-1 and Tapendar-1 wells will now be analysed and integrated into the seismic data previously acquired across Tullow’s Mauritania acreage before the next well locations and timings are confirmed. Seismic acquisition in Blocks C-3 and C-18 will also continue this year. Tullow operates the C-10 licence with 59.10% equity and is partnered by Premier Oil plc (6.23%), Kufpec (11.12%), Petronas (13.5%) and SMHPM (10%).

Fairmount Fuji Assisted Drillship Stena Forth

Fairmount Marine’s multipurpose support vessel Fairmount Fuji has assisted drillship Stena Forth, owned by Swedish Stena Drilling, when passing by Cape Town, South Africa. Fairmount Fuji was contracted to perform several cargo runs. Stena Forth anchored offshore Cape Town for crew changes and replenishments. Fairmount Fuji is equipped with a spacious 280 square meters deck. This made her ideal for the transport of goods. Fairmount Fuji sailed up and down between Cape Town port and Cape Town anchorage for a number of cargo runs.

Fairmount Fuji Assisted Stena Icemax

Fairmount Marine’s multipurpose support vessel Fairmount Fuji has assisted drill ship Stena Icemax while making a stop-over at Cape Town. On request of the owner of Stena Icemax the Fairmount Fuji carried out several cargo runs from the port of Cape Town to the anchorage. Stena Icemax was under way from the Far East to French Guiana and required to make a stop-over at Cape Town for crew change and replenishment. Stena Icemax is a 228 meters long new build drill ship designed for deep water operations in harsh environments. Fairmount Fuji is a multipurpose support vessel with a spacious aft deck of 280 square meters and with towing capabilities. Directly after assisting Stena Icemax the Fairmount Fuji was prepared for her next assignment in West Africa region, where she will act as an accommodation and general support vessel for an offshore operator.

Drilling on Tyrihans South

Statoil spudded an appraisal well on the Tyrihans South find in the Norwegian Sea on 21 September. The Stena Don semi-submersible rig is carrying out the drilling, which is expected to take about one and a half months. “We hope to prove additional oil and gas reserves on Tyrihans South,” reports Knut Christian Grindstad, vice president in the Halten/Nordland exploration unit in Harstad. Gas and oil have already been proven in Tyrihans South and North respectively, in 1983 and 1984. The blocks in which these finds have been proven lie in production licences 073 and 091, and are situated 40 kilometres south of the Asgard field. Water depth is about 285 metres. The well on Tyrihans South will be drilled to between 3,000 and 4,000 metres depth. “We consider Tyrihans to be an Åsgard satellite, and are contemplating direct subsea tie-back to existing infrastructure on Åsgard,” confirms Mr Grindstad. Timing of the development will depend on available capacity in the infrastructure and the solution chosen for the sale of the gas. Licensees in production licence 091 are operator Statoil with 55 per cent, Norsk Hydro (33) and ExxonMobil (12). Licensees in production licence 073 are operator Statoil with 54.67 per cent, TotalFinaElf (33.33) and Norsk Hydro (12). Stena Don is one of the world’s most modern drilling rigs. Its features include dynamic positioning, which maintains the correct position without the use of anchors. The rig arrived on Tyrihans from an operation on the Statoil operated Norne field. It will also drill the first exploration well on the Blameis structure east of the Norne field later this autumn.

Dry in Blåmeis

No hydrocarbons were encountered with an exploration well drilled by Statoil on the Blåmeis prospect in the Norne area of the Norwegian Sea. “This well was drilled in a prospect with a large oil potential, but which was also regarded as high risk,” says Roger Inge Johansen, exploration manager for the area. “So the result wasn’t very surprising. But we’re disappointed all the same.” The 6608/11-3 wildcat was drilled in production licence 128, about 15 kilometres east of Statoil’s Norne field, with the aim of proving oil in Jurassic sandstones. Drilling terminated at a depth of roughly 2,000 metres, in Triassic sediments. PL 128 embraces blocks 6608/10 and 11, where earlier discoveries include Stær, Svale and Falk as well as Norne. The well was drilled by Stena Don in 21 days – about a week faster than planned. “This rig has once again done a very efficient job, and the operation was implemented without accidents to people or material assets,” says Mr Johansen. The results of this well will have no impact on the future exploration programme in the Norne area. Two new wildcats have been approved by the licensees. They will be on the Lerke and Gråspett prospects, and are due to be spudded in the first half of 2003.

Oil find near Norne

An oil discovery has been made by Statoil in the Stær structure close to the group’s Norne field in the Norwegian Sea. The find could contribute to a unitised development of several reservoirs in the area. Its commerciality will now be assessed. Stær lies about three kilometres north-east of the Norne production ship, and its oil quality is similar to that in the other field. “This is particularly interesting because we’ve previously made discoveries in the Svale and Falk structures,” says exploration manager Roger Inge Johansen in the Halten/Nordland business cluster. “Stær is accordingly very important for achieving a unitised development of finds in the Norne area.” Exploration well 6608/10-8 in production licence 128 was drilled vertically from the Stena Don rig to a total measured depth of 2,660 metres, and terminated in early Jurassic rocks. A sidetrack, 6608/10-8A, was also drilled 600 metres out from the vertical well to clarify the size of the field. This had a total measured depth of roughly 2,600 metres below the seabed. Stena Don has also been chartered to drill a well in the Blåmeis structure east of Norne this summer.

Wildcat spudded on Blåmeis

The first exploration well on Statoil’s Blåmeis prospect in the Norwegian Sea was spudded on 26 November by Stena Don, and is expected to take about a month to complete. This structure is thought to contain oil, reports Knut Chr Grindstad, exploration vice president for the Halten/Nordland cluster in the north Norwegian port of Harstad. Blåmeis is close to the group’s existing Norne field, in an area where Statoil has already found oil in a series of structures named after birds – Stær (Starling), Falk (Falcon) and Svale (Swallow). None of these discoveries is large enough to support a stand-alone development. Statoil is accordingly considering various options, which include coming up with technology that could make it easier to tie back small finds to Norne’s production ship. Developing these discoveries as a cluster will also improve their economics. The Norne vessel is due to go off plateau in 2003, and needs additional oil to maintain production levels. Great expectations are attached to the Blåmeis wildcat. Mr Grindstad says that a possible oil discovery could also be tied back to Norne. Should the most optimistic hopes be borne out by the well, however, the field could become a stand-alone development. Possible Blåmeis oil is expected to be heavier than Norne crude, but this will not be known until drilling has been completed and its results analysed. Plans call for the well to be drilled to a depth of about 2,000 metres.

Drilling on Graspett

A wildcat has been spudded on Statoil’s Gråspett oil prospect in the Norwegian Sea, and should take about a month to complete. The well is being drilled from Stena Don on behalf of the partners in production licence 128. Gråspett lies in block 6608/10 close to Statoil’s Norne field. The group has previously found oil in the nearby Stær, Falk, Lerke and Svale structures, but none of these is large enough to support a stand-alone development. “We’re considering various solutions for phasing the finds into the Norne production ship,” explains Knut Chr Grindstad, vice president for exploration in Halten/Nordland. “One option is to link them in a cluster with a shared tie-in to the vessel. We have hopes for the Gråspett wildcat, where a discovery would strengthen the prospects for such a solution.” Preliminary plans call for well 6608/10-10 to be drilled to a total depth of 2,800 metres. In addition to Statoil with 40,455 per cent, the partners in PL 128 are Norsk Hydro with 13.500 per cent, Norsk Agip 11,500 per cent, Shell/Enterprise 10 per cent and Petoro 24,545 per cent.

Duster on Graspett

A wildcat on Statoil’s Gråspett prospect in the Norwegian Sea has been completed without encountering signs of oil. Drilled on behalf of production licence 128, covering blocks 6608/10 and 6608/11, the well lies 175 kilometres off northern Norway and three kilometres north-east of Statoil’s Norne field. It was drilled in 374 metres of water to a total measured depth of 2,750 metres below sea level and terminated in Jurassic rocks. No hydrocarbons were found in the relevant sandstones. Statoil has previously made discoveries in the Stær, Falk, Lerke and Svale structures in the same area, but none of these is large enough to support a stand-alone development. “The Gråspett wildcat has played its part in clarifying the resource position around Stær and Svale,” explains section manager Roger Inge Johansen in the Halten/Nordland cluster. “Failure to make a discovery with this well does not affect assessments of developing these finds and tying them back to the Norne production ship.” In addition to Statoil, with 40.455 per cent, partners in PL 128 are Petoro with 24.545 per cent, Norsk Hydro 13.5 per cent, Norsk Agip 11.5 per cent and Shell/Enterprise 10 per cent.

New wildcat off the Faroes

A sub-basalt exploration well is to be drilled by Statoil on the Brugdan prospect in licence 006 off the Faroe islands next summer. This operation will be carried out by the semi-submersible Stena Don, which is currently on charter to Statoil in Norway. The partners in licences 003 and 001, operated by Statoil and Amerada Hess respectively, have signed an agreement to farm into the Statoil-operated 006 licence. They have been allowed by the Faroese Petroleum Administration to offset their drilling commitments in licences 003 and 001 by participation in the planned wildcat. “We’re very satisfied to have reached agreement with our partners and the Faroese authorities on drilling this well,” says Gregory T Himes. He is Statoil’s vice president for the former Soviet Union and Europe in the global exploration cluster of the International Exploration & Production business area. "The Brugdan prospect has provided a real technical challenge for the explorationists trying to interpret beneath very thick sections of volcanic rock," says Mr Himes. This drilling target is about 70 kilometres from the nearest well discovery, Rosebank, but he emphasises that the geology could be completely different. Statoil has a 30 per cent interest in Rosebank, which is operated by Chevron. The Brugdan well will be drilled to a total depth of about 3,780 metres below sea level, in roughly 450 metres of water. Statoil has 27.15 per cent of licence 006, which is one of its four operatorships on the Faroese continental shelf. Its partners in licence 006 are DONG with 21.91 per cent, Anadarko 13 per cent, Enterprise Oil (Shell) 12.47 per cent, Amerada Hess 11.09 per cent, BG group 10.31 per cent, Faroe Petroleum 4.04 per cent and Atlantic Petroleum 0.03 per cent.

Brugdan not commercial

Drilling by Statoil as operator of well 6104/21-1 in licence 006 off the Faroe Islands has been completed. No commercially viable oil or gas volumes were proven. The well was drilled by the Stena Don rig to a total depth of 4,201 metres in roughly 480 metres of water. Only traces of gas were found in the structure. "We are obviously disappointed that the drilling did not reveal commercial volumes of hydrocarbons, " says Rúni M Hansen, vice president for Statoil Færoyene. "A positive aspect is that the well has given us useful knowledge about drilling in volcanic sub-basalt rock. That will be helpful in future exploration off the Faroes. Originally, the plan was to drill down to 3,780 metres but Statoil applied for permission to drill deeper. Due to technical problems, the well had to be abandoned early. The well has now been permanently plugged and abandoned. Cores from the well will be thoroughly examined to gather information for future exploration. According to Bjarni Djurholm, trade and industry minister for the Faroes, the well is an important source of knowledge about the geology below the sub-basalt rocks on the Faroese continental shelf. "Preparations for the third Faroese licensing round are under way," says Mr Djurholm. "I expect it to be announced in the autumn of 2007 as scheduled." The partners in licence 006 are Statoil with 27.15%, Dong (21.91%), Anadarko (13%), Enterprise Oil (Shell) (12.47%), Amerada Hess (11.09%), BG group (10.31%), Faroe Petroleum (4.04%) and Atlantic Petroleum (0.03%).

Stena contract extended

A charter with Stena Drilling for the Stena Don semi-submersible has been extended by Statoil for three years plus a one-year option. Worth a total of just under NOK 4 billion, including the option, this contract will come into effect in December. “The rig market is tight because of the high level of exploration on the Norwegian continental shelf,” observes Gunnar G Opsahk, sub-surface head for the Halten/Nordland business cluster. “Extending our charter with Stena Drilling secures us access to rig capacity for our drilling and completion activities for a long time to come.” Plans call for Stena Don to drill wells on the Heidrun, Norne and Åsgard wells in the Norwegian Sea.

Additional resources to Åsgard

Operator Statoil has completed drilling an exploration well at the Yttergryta prospect on the Norwegian Sea's Halten Terrace. Well 6507/11-8, which lies in production licence 062 around one kilometre east of the Midgard field, was proven to hold gas in sandstones of Jurassic age. It was drilled to a total depth of 2,749 metres below sea level and halted in early Jurassic rocks. Due to be completed in 2008, it was drilled as a combined exploration and production well and temporarily plugged. "The well is promising since additional resources were proven in a new structure, thus increasing the hope of further gas finds in the area close to the Midgard field," says Frode Fasteland, acting head of production on the Norwegian continental shelf. "To ensure the quickest possible development, considerable pre-investments have been made, including the installation of a subsea template and preparations for a future gas pipeline to Midgard in advance of the well coming into production." The Stena Don drilling rig drilled the well in a water depth of 297 metres. Statoil is operator for production licence 062 with a 31.1% interest. Other licensees are Total with 24.5%, Hydro (14.7%) and Eni (9.8%).

Contracting the Stena Don drilling rig

Statoil has signed a three-year contract with Stena Drilling for hire of the Stena Don drilling rig. The contract value is USD 437 million over a period of three years. Plans call for the semi-submersible rig to be used for drilling on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS). The rig was also under contract with Statoil from 2001 to December 2009. “We have long experience with Stena Don, and we look forward to continuing the cooperation with this rig,” says Anders Opedal, head of procurements in Statoil. The schedule of work for the rig is being considered by relevant licences on the NCS. The rig will play an important role in Statoil’s efforts to reach its NCS production targets.

Statoil secures drillship for Kwanza basin drilling

Statoil has signed a three year contract for the ‘Stena Carron’ drillship for exploration drilling in the pre-salt blocks (Blocks 38 and 39) in the Kwanza basin in Angola. The agreement managed by Stena Drilling is for a three-year fixed term with start-up Q4 2013 / Q1 2014. The estimated total contract value is USD700 million. Statoil has also secured two one-year extensions. Statoil has also allocated the ‘Discoverer Americas’ drillship to East Africa to perform exploration drilling in the Statoil-operated blocks in Tanzania and Mozambique. "Statoil has now secured rig capacity for its planned global exploration programme in 2013 and 2014. We have drilled four successful wells in Tanzania over the last year, and are now committed to drilling additional wells in Tanzania as well as in Mozambique and Angola," says Tim Dodson, executive vice president for Exploration in Statoil. "Together with a three-well campaign in the Gulf of Mexico, three Statoil-operated wells in Canada, and a one-year drilling campaign in the Barents Sea, this demonstrates an ambitious exploration programme." In Angola, Statoil will test the pre-salt potential in the Kwanza blocks by drilling the commitment wells in block 38 and 39. In East Africa Statoil, along with its respective partners, plans to drill three to four wells testing the further potential in block 2 in Tanzania and explore the block 2 and 5 area in Mozambique. In the Gulf of Mexico Statoil will drill three operated wells during 2013 utilising the semi-submersible Maersk Developer. The company also has exploration activities in two to three partner operated wells in this region coming up, in addition to a three-well campaign offshore Newfoundland in Canada. "We are pleased to secure these ultra-deep water rigs," says Statoil's chief procurement officer Jon Arnt Jacobsen. "Statoil has an ambition to produce 2.5 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2020, which requires that we ensure sufficient and appropriate rig capacity. We have secured rigs for our needs in 2013 and 2014, and we are also targeting the allocation of rigs and developing new rig concepts to ensure more capacity in the market."