Ardmore, Oklahoma-based Noble Affiliates Inc. has confirmed the discovery of a significant natural gas field offshore Israel in its Ashqelon prospect. The Mari-B #2 appraisal well was drilled in 665 feet of water approximately 15 miles off the southern coast of Israel. The Mari-B #2 has logged more than 600 feet of pay. Rock quality is superb, with permeabilities averaging 2 darcies and porosities in the range of 30%, says Noble. The appraisal lies a mile east of the Mari-B #1 discovery well, which was drilled and tested in 800 feet of water in March 2000. That well encountered more than 550 feet of massive, high-quality pay sand, and tested gas at the rate of 33 million cubic feet per day. The rate was limited by the production facilities. The company will now move the rig to a location approximately nine miles to the west to drill an appraisal well to its Noa #1 discovery. That well, drilled by Noble in June 1999 in 2,500 feet of water, tested gas at a rate of 30 million cubic feet per day. Again, test rates were constrained by the rig facilities. Noble's subsidiary, Samedan Mediterranean Sea, operates the well and owns a 40% working interest, R&B Falcon Corp. owns 15%, and Israeli firms Avner Oil Exploration Ltd. Partnership and Delek Drilling Ltd. Partnership own 21.39% and 23.61%, respectively. The joint venture holds oil and gas interests in more than a million acres offshore Israel. -Peggy Williams 1 Canada Oklahoma City-based Kerr-McGee Corp. is acquiring a 50% interest in Calgary-based Canadian 88 Energy Corp.'s offshore Nova Scotia holdings. Canadian 88 holds a 100% interest in four exploration licenses; Kerr-McGee will pay C$15.2 million for a half-interest and assume operations. The U.S. firm will also assume C$2.2 million of future seismic processing costs related to the project. The licenses, approximately 100 miles southwest of Sable Island in waters 500 ft. to 9,200 ft. deep, cover more than 1.5 million acres. 2 Costa Rica Denver independent Mallon Resources Corp. reports that it has been awarded a concession to explore for oil and gas in a 2.3-million-acre area, comprised of six contiguous onshore blocks in the San Carlos and Limon North basins. The $8.8-million work program calls for drilling six wells over a three-year period, with a possible extension of three more years. 3 Brazil U.K. company Enterprise Oil PLC has signed two joint venture deals with Petrobras. Enterprise will take a 55% interest in the Bijupira-Salema fields in the Campos Basin. Enterprise plans to invest $40- to $50 million in the project in 2000, and $200 million in both 2001 and 2002. By 2003, the Bijupira-Salema fields should be producing 55,000 bbl. per day of 30-degree-gravity oil, says the company, which will act as operator. Odebrecht S.A. will also hold a 25% interest in Bijupira-Salema, and Petrobras will retain 20%. Additionally, Enterprise has taken a 25% interest in Block BCe-2 in the Ceara Basin offshore northeast Brazil. 4 The Netherlands Calgary-based Gulf Canada Resources Ltd. reports that it has made a natural gas discovery at its P6-9 well on the P6 Block in the Dutch sector of the North Sea. The P6-9 well is 4.5 kilometers northwest of the P6-8 producing field on the same block. The well tested 45 million cu. ft. per day from a 50-meter perforated interval from one reservoir, and an additional 9 million cu. ft. per day from a second reservoir. Gulf Canada operates and owns a 29.4% interest in the discovery; its partners are Dyas Nederland B.V. with a 20.85% interest, Energie Beheer Nederland B.V. with a 40% interest, and a subsidiary of Cairn Energy Plc, with a 9.75% interest. First production is targeted for next year, pending appropriate approvals. 5 Poland Salt Lake City-based FX Energy Inc. reports that it plans to develop its Wilga Field in the Lublin Concession near Warsaw. The discovery well, first announced in January, tested at a combined flow rate of 16.9 million cu. ft. of gas and 570 bbl. of condensate per day. FX says that its recent investigations indicate that the accumulation contains as much as several hundred billion cu. ft. of gas. The company is currently drilling the Wilga #3, and plans to follow that immediately with the Wilga #4. Two additional wells are planned for later this year. FX owns a 45% working interest in the project. 6 Algeria Amerada Hess Corp. has acquired a redevelopment project covering El Gassi, El Agreb and Zotti fields from Sonatrach. Amerada Hess will pay $55 million for the Gassi El Agreb project and will form a joint operating company with Sonatrach to rehabilitate the fields. The new company will be called Sonahess, with the production initially being split 51% Sonatrach and 49% Amerada Hess. The fields currently produce about 30,000 bbl. of oil per day, and total remaining reserves are estimated to be in excess of 300 million bbl. of oil. The work program calls for shooting 3-D seismic, drilling 30 wells, working over 30 wells and installing water injection and gas compression facilities. The goal of the redevelopment project is to increase gross production to 45,000 bbl. of oil per day by late 2003. In addition, Amerada Hess acquired exploration rights on a block adjacent to the prolific Hassi Berkine region. 7 Algeria Also in Algeria, Houston independent Burlington Resources Inc., Calgary-based Talisman Energy Inc., and Sonatrach report a successful appraisal well on the Menzel Lejmat Block 405 in the Berkine Basin. The MLNW-2 was drilled 3 kilometers northeast of the original discovery MLNW-1, and is completed in the same F1 and F2 Devonian reservoirs. Three zones were tested, flowing at a combined rate of 12,813 bbl. of 43-degree-gravity oil per day. Additional appraisal wells-the MLNW-3 and 4-will be drilled this year. Burlington has a 65% working interest in Block 405 and Talisman holds the remaining 35% working interest; Sonatrach has an option to participate in the development. 8 Angola TotalFina Elf reports yet another crude oil discovery offshore Angola in Block 17. The Jasmin 1 flowed at a daily rate of 10,800 bbl. of oil per day. TotalFina Elf operates and holds a 40% share in the block; Exxon Mobil Corp. owns 20%; BP-Amoco has 16.67%; Den Norsk Stats Oljeselskap, 13.33%; and Norsk Hydro, 10%. 9 Chad Petronas, the national oil company of Malaysia, and Chevron Corp. have joined with operator Exxon Mobil Corp. to develop the Doba oil fields and build an export pipeline. The group plans to develop landlocked oil fields in southern Chad and transport the crude oil via a 650-mile pipeline to the coast of Cameroon. Cost of the development, which is expected to produce a billion bbl. of oil over a 25- to 30-year life, is estimated at $3.5 billion. ExxonMobil has a 40% interest in the project, Petronas has 35%, and Chevron, 25%. 10 Yemen Adair International Oil & Gas Inc. and Occidental Petroleum Corp. have jointly signed an oil-production agreement with two Yemeni companies, Saba National Oil Co. and Yemeni Oil Investment Co. Under the agreement, the partners will explore for oil on 2,049-square-kilometer Block 20 in Shabwah Field. 11 Iran Iran reports that it has discovered a large onshore gas field with estimated reserves of 445 billion cu. meters of gas and 240 million bbl. of liquids. Tabnac Field lies in the southern Fars province; development will begin late this year. Production at startup is expected to be between 1.5- and 2 billion cu. ft. a day of gas and between 24,000- and 32,000 bbl. a day of liquids. 12 India The Indian government has signed production sharing contracts with domestic and foreign oil companies for 25 exploration blocks. Of the 25 blocks, 22 were offered under the country's new licensing policy. Five blocks were awarded to Oil & Natural Gas Corp., two blocks to a consortium of ONGC and Indian Oil Corp., one block to a ONGC-Gas Authority of India Ltd. consortium and one block to Oil India Ltd. The government also entered into a production sharing contract for 12 blocks with Reliance Industries Ltd. and Niko Resources Ltd. and for one block with Cairn Energy India Pty. Ltd. Additionally, three contracts from an earlier exploration round were signed for blocks in the western state of Gujarat. Two deals were signed with Gujarat State Petroleum Corp. Ltd., Hindustan Oil Exploration Company Ltd. and ONGC, and one contract with Reliance India Ltd. and Oil India Ltd. 13 Brunei New Zealand firm Fletcher Challenge Ltd.'s energy division and its joint venture partners are beginning a five-well exploration program off the coast of Brunei. The Fletcher Challenge-led consortium will begin drilling a well at the Bendahara Selatan prospect, a second well will target the Laksamana Utara prospect, and a third the East Egret prospect. Two subsequent wells are scheduled for appraisal or possibly further exploration. More than 20 prospects have been identified in the 2,400-square-kilometer A and CD offshore blocks. One prospect has the potential to hold up to 300 million bbl. of oil, says the company. Fletcher Challenge Energy and Unocal Corp. both have 26.95% stakes in the blocks, with local interests holding the remainder.