Activity has been robust offshore Nova Scotia. At press time, PanCanadian Petroleum Ltd. was drilling ahead at its Southampton A-25, an exploration well that is an easterly stepout from the company's major Deep Panuke gas discovery. The well is targeting the Jurassic Abenaki formation at approximately 10,500 feet, says Calgary-based consulting firm Canadian Discovery Ltd. PanCandian operates and holds a 37.5% interest in the well, on Exploration License 2376. Marathon Oil also holds 37.5%, and Murphy Oil owns 25%. PanCanadian has already drilled four prolific wells into the Deep Panuke reef trend, each flowing in excess of 50 million cubic feet per day during extended production testing. Earlier this year, it plugged and abandoned its Musquodoboit E-23 exploration well, on EL 2360. It had a 74% interest, and Murphy Oil held the remainder. After completion of the Southampton well, PanCanadian plans to immediately drill another test just south of the Panuke Production License. Canadian Superior also has scheduled a well on trend with the four PanCanadian Deep Panuke producers. Separately, Marathon Oil Co. is ready to begin drilling its Annapolis prospect in 5,700 feet of water on EL 2377. This block adjoins the one containing the Southampton prospect. The well will be the deepest-water test yet drilled offshore the province. Marathon owns a 30% interest in the license; PanCanadian and Norsk Hydro, 25% each; and Murphy, 20%. -Peggy Williams 1 Canada Calgary-based junior Storm Energy Inc. is following up earlier successes with an ambitious winter program that will involve the drilling of approximately 45 exploration and development wells during the next two quarters, says Canadian Discovery Ltd. Much of its activity will be focused on gas exploration in northeastern British Columbia, including 18 wells at the company's Tommy Lakes gas property and an additional six wells at its Kotcho and Cabin gas properties. The company also plans 18 wells at Red Earth in northern Alberta, where it has made significant oil discoveries in the Devonian Slave Point and Granite Wash formations during the last two years. Of particular note is the April 2000 discovery in the Granite Wash sands, in the Loon area near Red Earth. The discovery well at 02/08-12-087-10W5/0 is currently producing more than 1,300 bbl. of oil per day from a pool estimated to contain 10 million bbl. of light oil. 2 Canada PanCanadian Energy Corp. and MGV Energy Inc., the Canadian subsidiary of Quicksilver Resources Inc., Fort Worth, have drilled 23 exploration wells and 24 pilot wells on their Palliser Block to date, a coalbed-methane property in southern Alberta. A total of 100 wells will be drilled on the block by the end of first-quarter 2002. The project is the largest CBM venture in Canada. Additionally, the partners are expanding their CBM activities into a large area outside of their Palliser holdings. The companies are planning 25 additional exploration wells in the greater area, of which 12 are expected to be drilled by the end of first-quarter 2002. 3 Canada Exploration for oil in the Senlac area of southwestern Saskatchewan has been paying off for Alberta Energy Corp. Two horizontal exploratory wells drilled earlier this year in the Senlac Field area, east of the town of Provost near the Alberta border, have recently come onstream at impressive rates. The 92/06-11-040-26W3/0 and 92/05-11-040-26W3/0 wells are currently producing more than 1,800 and 1,600 bbl. of oil per day, respectively. The producing zones are the Cretaceous Cummings and Dina members of the Mannville Group, found at approximately 750 meters deep, says Canadian Discovery. 4 Trinidad Calgary firm Talisman Energy Inc. reports that it has been awarded an interest in Exploration Block 3a, which covers 150,000 acres off Trinidad's northeastern coast in 100 to 300 ft. of water. Talisman, BHP Petroleum and BG International each hold 30% interests, and TotalFinaElf has the remaining 10%. In mid-2001, Talisman made the Kairi-1 discovery on adjacent Block 2c. That well encountered 322 net ft. of gas pay and 235 net ft. of oil pay, and tested 3,000 bbl. of oil per day from one 14-ft. sandstone interval. The company and its partners are now drilling the Canteen-1 well on Block 2c, about a mile from the Kairi-1 discovery. Partners in Block 2c are Talisman (25%), BHP (45%) and TotalFinaElf (30%). In separate activity onshore Trinidad, Tulsa-based Vintage Petroleum Inc. has concluded its initial testing operations on the Carapal Ridge #1, the first of two exploration wells it has drilled in the Central Block. Within a 1,000-ft. section of gross pay in the Miocene Herrera formation, five separate intervals were tested at a combined daily rate in excess of 50 million cu. ft. and 1,500 bbl. of condensate. Currently, the company is completing a second well, the Corosan #1. Vintage operates the block and owns a 65% working interest. Petrotrin, the national oil company, owns the remaining 35% working interest. The partners are pursuing a test-to-sales strategy to confirm the reserve volumes. 5 Faroe Islands Amerada Hess has made an apparent discovery offshore the Faroe Islands. The operator is currently testing its Marjun prospect at exploration well 6004/16a-1, which was drilled to a total depth of 4,275 meters in the Paleocene. The well, on License 001 in 950 meters of water, encountered a 170-meter hydrocarbon column. The tract lies south of the Faroe Islands near its border with the U.K. Amerada Hess is partnered with BG, DONG (Denmark's state oil firm) and Atlantic Petroleum. The well was the third to be drilled on the Faroes Shelf in 2001; Statoil and BP each drilled noncommercial wells. 6 United Kingdom BG Group Plc has received government approval to start a second drilling program at its Armada complex, which comprises Drake, Fleming and Hawkins fields in Block 22/5 in the U.K. sector of the North Sea. The second drilling phase should enable the field to maintain current production levels of 450 million cu. ft. of gas and 17,000 bbl. of oil per day. It will extend the life of the fields, which began production in 1997, to 2010. BG operates Armada and owns a 45.27% interest; BP owns 18.20%; TotalFinaElf owns 12.53%; Phillips Petroleum, 11.45%; Yorkshire Energy, 6.97%; and Agip, 5.58%. In separate activity in the outer Moray Firth area, BG and partners Talisman Energy and Paladin Resources have successfully tested two zones in appraisal well 13/24a-8 on the Blake Flank structure. Tests at the first zone, over the Coracle Formation, flowed 2,450 bbl. of oil on a 56/64-in. choke. The second test, in the overlying Captain sands, flowed 3,000 bbl. per day on a 1-in. choke. A sidetrack is being drilled to confirm volumes within the structure. The Blake Flank structure lies directly northeast of Blake Field, which began production in June 2001. 7 The Netherlands Clyde Petroleum, a subsidiary of Conoco Inc., has made a natural gas discovery that extends over two blocks in the Dutch sector of the North Sea. The discovery is the company's seventh commercial find offshore the Netherlands within the last three years. Exploratory well Q4-10 flowed at an unstimulated rate of 43 million cu. ft. of gas per day from a 56-meter interval, and flowed 39 million cu. ft. per day from a 40-meter section. Both tests were carried out over limited perforation intervals within longer reservoir sections, says the company. The discovery, which extends from Block Q4 into Block Q1, will be named Q1-A. Clyde Petroleum operates and holds a 45.46% interest; Energie Beheer Nederland owns 40%; DSM Energie, 10.32%; Dyas Nederland, 1.45%; and CLAM Petroleum, 2.77%. 8 Egypt Calgary firm Centurion Energy International confirms that its Sherbean-1 well, on its 100%-held El Manzala concession, onshore Egypt, is a discovery. The well was drilled to a total depth of 1,390 meters and established 12 meters of net gas-bearing pay in the objective Kafr El Sheikh formation. Production tests with multiple choke sizes were conducted, flowing gas at a maximum rate of 20 million cu. ft. per day through a 3/4-in. choke. Gas shows that were encountered in two additional zones were not tested. Prior to the drilling of this well, the concession contained proven and probable reserves of 160 billion cu. ft. of gas, says the company. 9 Oman Dallas-based Hunt Oil Co. has signed an oil and gas exploration and production agreement on Block 50, in the Gulf of Masirah in the Arabian Sea. Hunt will carry out exploration activities and seismic surveys during a four-year period. The Block 50 area comprises approximately 22,245 square kilometers. 10 Turkmenistan ExxonMobil Corp. has spudded a deep wildcat about six kilometers from the Caspian Sea coast in Cheleken Field. The offshore well has a projected total depth of 5,300 meters, says IHS Energy Group. The well is on the 4,500-square-kilometer Garashsyzlyk-2 license, which is held 52.4% by ExxonMobil, 27.6% by Agip and 20% by Turkmenneft. The block, which contributes about 80% of Turkmenistan's oil production, includes Barsa Gelmes and Kotur-Tepe fields, as well as part of Cheleken Field. 11 India London firm Cairn Energy Plc reports a discovery on Block RJ-ON-90/1, onshore Rajasthan in western India. Exploration well RJ-H-1, 50 kilometers north of the company's 1999 Guda-2 oil discovery, was directionally drilled to a total depth of 1,837 meters. It encountered several hydrocarbon-bearing reservoirs below 1,400 meters. The well flowed at a cumulative rate of 2,020 bbl. of oil per day. Cairn owns a 50% interest in the block; Shell owns the remaining 50%. Indian state firm Oil & Natural Gas Corp. Ltd. has the right to take a 30% interest if the discovery is commercial. 12 New Zealand Shell New Zealand plans to drill up to four development and appraisal wells in Pohokura and Maari fields during the first half of 2002. An offshore rig will drill an appraisal well at the northern end of Pohokura Field a few kilometers north of the Pohokura-2 well; a second well will be a sidetrack drilled from the onshore Pohokura South-1 site, a dry hole drilled in 2001. Currently, Pohokura Field is scheduled to come onstream in 2005 at a cost of $500- to $700 million. In offshore Maari Field, development studies are continuing. One appraisal well and one exploratory well are planned in 2002. Meanwhile, Shell and its partner, Todd Petroleum Mining Co. Ltd., say that Maui Field, New Zealand's major gas accumulation, will cease production in 2007, two years ahead of previous forecasts. Shell operates and owns an 87.5% working interest in the accumulation; Todd owns the remaining 12.5%.