Esgian has revealed its Week 49 Rig Market Roundup highlighting new drilling exercise within the North Sea and a brand new licensing deal in Morocco.
Drilling Activity and Discoveries
Serica Energy is continuous with plans for its four-well drilling marketing campaign within the UK North Sea, scheduled for 2024 and early 2025. The marketing campaign will probably be carried out utilizing the semisubmersible COSLInnovator. All 4 wells are manufacturing wells. The first effectively within the marketing campaign will probably be a sidetrack of an current effectively (B1z) on the Bittern area. The spud date is at the moment anticipated to be in mid-Q1 of 2024, with the completion anticipated in about 90 days. The different wells within the marketing campaign are the GE-05 effectively on Gannet E, the EC effectively on Guillemot North West, and the EV-02 effectively on Evelyn.
Serica has additionally exercised an choice to make use of the two,460-ft COSLInnovator to drill a fifth effectively within the marketing campaign, and this can be the event effectively on the Belinda area. The draft FDP for this mission was submitted to the NSTA in September 2023. The semisub is at the moment working for CNOOC and is scheduled for SPS across the finish of the month, after which it can transfer on to its subsequent contract. Petrofac is managing these effectively operations on behalf of Serica.
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has granted Vår Energi a drilling allow for a wildcat effectively within the Barents Sea off Norway. The effectively 7219/6-1, concentrating on Venus prospect, is situated in manufacturing license 1025 S, which is operated by Vår Energi with Petoro and Equinor taking part as companions. Drilling is deliberate to begin within the first quarter of 2024 on the earliest, with a length of as much as 45 days. It will probably be carried out with the 1,640-ft Transocean Enabler semisub in a water depth of about 399 meters.
Petronas has said that there have been 19 exploration discoveries and two exploration-appraisal successes offshore Malaysia in 2023, contributing over 1 billion barrels of oil equal of latest sources. These discoveries embrace wells operated by Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd, PTTEP, Shell, and Hibiscus.
Sixteen of those have been made within the Sarawak Basin, primarily within the Balingian and West Luconia areas. Three have been made within the Northwest Sabah Basin and two within the Malay Basin. Petronas Senior Vice President of Malaysia Petroleum Management Mohamed Firouz Asnan stated that the subsequent collection of the Malaysia Bid Round could be launched in early 2024, “offering more exploration blocks and discovered resources opportunities to potential investors.”
Demand
With the rig tendering course of ongoing, Shell is on observe to drill the Selene exploration effectively and the Pensacola appraisal effectively, each situated within the UK Southern North Sea, in 2H 2024. The Selene prospect is located within the Southern North Sea Licence P2347 and the Pensacola discovery in Licence P2252. Both licenses are operated by Shell, with Deltic Energy taking part as a associate.
Preparatory works for each the Selene and Pensacola wells are progressing based on plan. Following completion of the effectively design course of, crucial lengthy lead objects together with casing have been recognized, and procurement processes are superior. Accordingly, Selene stays on observe to be drilled in Q3 2024.
The JV is anticipated to formalize a optimistic effectively funding determination in relation to the Pensacola appraisal effectively in December 2023. Planning for the appraisal of the Pensacola discovery is effectively superior and, topic to regulatory approvals, the drilling of the appraisal effectively on Pensacola stays on observe to be drilled after the Selene effectively in late 2024. Site survey works centered on the Pensacola appraisal effectively location are as a consequence of be carried out within the first half of 2024.
Australia-based Finder Energy has initiated a farmout course of to safe an trade associate to fund the drilling of the Whitsun prospect within the UK North Sea. The Whitsun prospect is situated inside the P2528 Seaward Production Licence within the UK North Sea. Finder holds a 60% curiosity in P2528 and is the Licence Administrator. The remaining 40% is held by Dana Petroleum, which farmed into the license final yr. Finder retained the 60% curiosity within the license to undertake a secondary farmout with the target of securing funding for drilling. The present time period of P2528 (Phase A) extends to late 2024.
Based on detailed subsurface interpretation of the newly reprocessed Big Buzz 3D, Whitsun has gross imply potential sources of 150 MMbbl and geological probability of success of 26%. The license is situated inside the Peterhead Graben, Central North Sea (CNS) instantly south of the Ettrick Sub-basin, which comprises the prolific stratigraphic traps of the Buzzard and Golden Eagle fields.
Buzzard is usually cited as one of many largest oil discoveries within the trendy period within the North Sea, with an estimated 1 billion barrels of oil. The area’s services provide potential for a tieback within the occasion of Whitsun’s success. The analysis of further prospectivity in P2528 and P2527 on the Big Buzz 3D reprocessed knowledge is ongoing.
Energean has signed partnership agreements to farm into Chariot Limited’s acreage in Morocco, taking a forty five% curiosity within the Lixus license, which incorporates the Anchois-1 and Anchois-2 discovery wells, and a 37.5% curiosity within the Rissana license, together with operatorship of each licenses. Completion of the transaction is topic to straightforward Moroccan regulatory approvals. Chariot will retain a 30% and 37.5% curiosity in Lixus and Rissana respectively, with ONHYM sustaining a 25% stake in every licence.
An appraisal effectively within the east of the Anchois area is deliberate for 2024, concentrating on an extra 11 Bcm of gross unrisked potential useful resource to be commercialized via the Anchois improvement. Chariot said that rig contract negotiations are superior. The effectively will probably be used to conduct a drill stem check on the principle sands, goal further recoverable sources by way of a sidetrack and a deepening of the effectively into beforehand undrilled sands, after which be retained as a future producer effectively. Energean and Chariot will develop the event plan for the sector, finalize gasoline sale negotiations and conduct a seismic marketing campaign on the licenses.
As consideration for the pursuits within the licences, Energean has agreed to a $10 million consideration on closing of the transaction and can carry Chariot for its share of pre-FID price as much as $85 million. This covers the drilling of the appraisal effectively, different pre-FID prices and as much as $7 million of seismic expenditure on the Rissana licence. Another $15 million in money is contingent on FID being taken on the Anchois Development. Post appraisal effectively, Energean has the choice to extend working curiosity within the Lixus license by 10% for additional issues. If the choice isn’t exercised, topic to FID, the companions comply with progress the Anchois improvement with an possession construction of Energean 45%, Chariot 30% and ONHYM 25%.
Longboat JAPEX Norge has farmed down two exploration licenses on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) via an settlement with Concedo. In PL1182S, the corporate has farmed down from 30% to fifteen% in return for a full carry of the Lotus exploration effectively, as much as an agreed cap above the dry effectively funds, which is anticipated to spud in Q3 2024. The license lies within the Northern North Sea, 4 km southeast of the latest important Kveikje discovery, the place Longboat JAPEX is a ten% fairness associate. Lotus comprises gross imply potential sources of 27 mmboe with additional potential upside estimated at 44 mmboe. The probability of success is 54%, with the important thing threat being hydrocarbon retention.
The Lotus prospect will probably be drilled utilizing the three,900-ft semisubmersible Deepsea Yantai throughout Q3 2024. The license partnership consists of DNO Norge (40%, operator) and Aker BP (30%). In PL1049, which comprises the Jasmine and Sjøkreps prospects, Longboat JAPEX has farmed down from 40% to 25% in return for Concedo carrying 15% of the corporate’s 2024 exploration expenditure. Sjøkreps is a fault-bounded three-way dip closure at Palaeocene stage and has preliminary estimated recoverable volumes ranging between 20 to 300 mmboe (P90-P10) with the principle threat being presence and high quality of reservoir. The Jasmine prospect is an injectite goal at Eocene stage, which is analogous to the Kveikje discovery, and has recoverable quantity vary preliminarily estimated between 10 to 30 mmboe (P90-P10) with the principle threat being reservoir presence and high quality.
The work program consists of seismic research, potential seismic reprocessing and integration of outcomes from ongoing and near-term wells concentrating on the identical interval within the space, which mixed have the potential to considerably enhance the possibilities of success forward of constructing a drill determination. The potential drilling determination needs to be made by February 2025.
