?Appraisals continue while Calgary-based Oilexco Inc. evaluates substantial results from its Moth discovery, a dual-zone find in the U.K. sector of the Central North Sea. Drilled to a total depth of 4,385 meters in Block 23/21, the test hit gas- and condensate-bearing reservoir sands in Upper Jurassic Fulmar and Middle Jurassic Pentland. The company says the 23/21-6z could be capable of producing at rates of 44 million cubic feet of gas and 4,400 barrels of oil per day.


A drillstem test was performed through perforations from 3,895 to 3,908 meters in 34.5 meters of pay in the Fulmar interval. The well flowed at an average rate of 20.3 million cubic feet of gas and 2,100 barrels of condensate per day through a 36/64-inch choke with a flowing tubing pressure of 4,478 psi. An earlier test across 133 meters of pay in the Pentland formation was not successful due to packer failure.


Oilexco says that flow rates from the Fulmar were severely restricted by the test equipment and the temperatures and pressures encountered. Its partners in the project are BG Group, Hess and BP.

?1 Oilsands Quest Inc., Calgary, has announced its independent resource estimates for its Axe Lake and Raven Ridge discoveries as well as engineering and commercialization plans for the first 30,000 bbl. of oil daily for part of the Axe Lake discovery. The best estimate (P-50) for Axe Lake is 1.7 billion bbl. of in-place discovered bitumen resources. The area covers approximately 41 sections of permits PS00208 and PS00210 in townships 94 and 95, ranges 24 and 25W3 in Saskatchewan, approximately 115 kilometers northeast of Fort McMurray. The Raven Ridge discovery estimate is 566 million bbl. of in-place discovered bitumen resources (P-50) in a 10-section area in townships 93 and 94, Range 1W4 in Alberta, directly east of Axe Lake.

2 Peru
According to E&P Daily, Shell will return to Peru after an 11-year absence by investing up to $300 million in exploration offshore Peru in a deal with Houston-based BPZ Energy. The operators plan to jointly explore three areas—blocks Z-1, XIX and XXIII—in northwest Peru, 1,300 kilometers north of Lima. Last March, U.S.- and Peruvian-owned BPZ found proved, probable and possible reserves estimated at 60 million bbl. of crude oil and 50 billion cu. ft. of gas in the offshore Corvina Field. If significant gas reserves are found, BPZ will match Shell’s investment, plus spend an additional $150 million to build an electric plant in the area. BPZ will receive 51.75% of oil or gas produced; Shell, 48.25%. The agreement has future considerations for a 50/50 joint venture to liquefy and export natural gas if warranted by the volume of gas discovered.

3 Brazil
Brazil’s state-owned Petrobras discovered oil in the Espirito Santo Basin, offshore Brazil. The #4-GLF-23-ESS, the Golfinho Field, flowed 27-degree API oil at 1,374 meters. Located 60 kilometers from Vitoria, Golfinho Field is estimated at 150 million bbl. of oil. The discovery lies near existing infrastructure in the Golfinho area, and fields could be delivered for production in a short period of time, reports Petrobras. If proven, the amount of oil in the well is worth $22 billion at current market prices and contains enough oil to supply Brazil for 68 days, according to partner BP.

4 Greenland
IHS Inc. reports that U.K.-based explorer Cairn Energy will start exploration work in the frontier area of Greenland in the second half of 2008. Cairn Energy has agreed to complete 2-D-seismic surveys off the Arctic island where it has acquired exploration licenses covering a huge amount of under-explored territory. Cairn is based in Edinburgh.

5 Romania
Aurelian Oil & Gas Plc, London, has completed its Fratauti-2 in its Brodina concession as a production well.?The Frataui-2 encountered an 11.6-meter gas column in the C sand, with net pay of five meters, at a depth of 605 meters. The zone tested at rates up to 3.7 million cu. ft. daily. Production is scheduled for September 2008. Aurelian plans additional wells at Vicsani-1, Lilieci-1 and Voitinel-1. Aurelian’s Brodina Block is on the eastern margin of the East Carpathian mountains near the Ukraine border.

6 Russia
Stockholm-based Lundin Pe­­­t­ro­­­leum has reported a discovery on its Laganskiy license in the northern Caspian Sea.?Drilled to a total depth of 2,082 meters, the Morskaya-1 well encountered a major oil accumulation in sandstone reservoirs of Aptian and Neocomian age, and smaller amounts of gas were encountered in a shallower Albian reservoir. Drillstem tests are planned in at least two reservoirs. The Morskaya-1 is in about two meters of water in the northeastern part of the license.?Lundin had assigned pre-drill reserves of 640 million bbl. Lagansky contains significant additional prospects and, following the testing at Morskaya-1, Lundin will drill its Laganskaya-1. It plans another two wells in 2009, targeting a large anticline to the northwest, and on trend with the Morskaya discovery.

7 Ghana
Dallas-based Kosmos Energy’s test on the Mahogany-2 appraisal well in Jubilee Field, offshore Ghana, was conducted over a 23-meter perforated interval in upper reservoir sands. It flowed 4,448 bbl. per day of 39-degree API oil and approximately 5.1 million cu. ft. per day of associated gas on a 36/64-in. choke. Earlier, the lower sands were successfully tested over a 17-meter interval at a rate of 5,200 bbl. of oil and 5.5 million cu. ft. of gas. In both tests, reported flow rates were restricted by equipment and facilities. These test results provided additional reservoir data and confirmed that the flow potential of the Jubilee production wells could be 20,000 bbl. per day.

8 Saudi Arabia
Two recent discoveries were reported by Saudi Aramco. The company’s Abqaiq-480 flowed 40 million cu. ft. daily of nonassociated gas from two Khuff reservoirs below 4,877 meters. An additional Khuff reservoir indicates gas, which will be tested later. Abqaiq-480 is 43 kilometers north of Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia, in Abqaiq Field’s northern dome, and 32 kilometers west of Dhahran.
In the Ghazal area of the Mazalij Field complex, Ghazal-15 flowed crude oil from Unayzah-B reservoir at 4,233 meters. The well also extended the gas reserve in the Unayzah-A reservoir. Located in the Central Province, Unayzah-B is 150 kilometers southeast of Riyadh and 90 kilometers west of the Haradh area of Ghawar Field.

9 Egypt
The UAE’s Dana Gas has discovered oil with its al-Baraka 2 well in Egypt. According to the company, the well, in the Abu Ballas formation in Komombo Block, was expected to produce around 2,200 bbl. of oil daily. It apparently confirms an earlier discovery, al-Baraka-1, in the Abu Ballas formation and the underlying Six Hills formation. The operator will begin hydraulic fracturing to increase output. Dana Gas plans to spend about $170 million to drill 19 wells in Egypt.

10 China
E&P Daily reports state-owned CNOOC Ltd. has made a discovery, Ken Li 10-1-1, in Bohai Bay, in northeastern China. The well was drilled on the KL 10-1 structure in the Laizhou Bay Sag and encountered 57 meters of oil pay. The wildcat was drilled to a total depth of 3,148 meters in 17 meters of ­­water. During a drillstem test, it flowed approximately 980 bbl. of oil and 100 million cu. ft. of gas daily.

11 China
CNOOC Ltd. reports initial production has started in the Wenchang fields in the Pearl River Mouth Basin in the South China Sea, including seven wells on Wen 19-1 Field, with a current capacity of 14,000 bbl. of oil daily. The Wenchang complex holds 19-1, 15-1, 14-3 and 8-3 fields, which will be developed via 26 production wells tied into five wellhead platforms and a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel. Production from Wen 19-1 is expected to peak at 18,800 bbl. of oil per day. Output from the other three fields is expected to start this year, according to CNOOC, which operates the fields with a 100% stake.

12 Australia
Offshore Western Australia, Chevron Corp. has extended Iago Field. The Iago-2 hit 47 meters of net pay in the Triassic Mungaroo formation. During a drillstem test, the well flowed at a rate of 53 million cu. ft. of gas per day from a 10-meter interval. It was drilled in 117 meters of water, close to Chevron’s 4.5-trillion-cu.-ft. Wheatstone Field. The company plans to develop Wheatstone as part of an LNG project and the new well will be tied back to Wheatstone.