Exploration has uncovered intriguing potential in west-central Alberta. Talisman Energy Inc., based in Calgary, has announced initial results from a new Cambrian play in the Ram area, southwest of the Foothills structural play.

The 12-20-38-13 W5M discovery well was drilled in spring 2006 and tested gas from three zones at a combined rate of 17 million cubic feet per day. H2S content was less than 1%.

Following the discovery, Talisman drilled three successful wells that tested at an aggregate rate of more than 20 million cubic feet per day from several separate intervals. Most of the prospective gas zones occurred at depths of less than 2,000 meters.

The company has built a 48,000-acre position in the multi-pay area. It has estimated natural gas resources on its acreage at between 200- and 300 billion cubic feet. In 2007, Talisman plans to drill eight additional wells in the play and establish first production.



1 Trinidad

Australian firm BHP Billiton has discovered oil off the northeastern coast of Trinidad in Block 3(a). Its 1,745-meter Ruby-1 wildcat tested at the rate of almost 5,000 bbl. of oil per day on a 56/64-in. choke from 244 meters of net pay, from within a gross interval of 366 meters. The well, one of the few oil discoveries in the country, lies 48 kilometers from the coast in 61 meters of water. BHP's Angostura Field is about eight kilometers west. BHP operates the find and holds a 25.5% interest; its partners are Anadarko Petroleum Corp., Talisman Energy, Total SA and the Petroleum Co. of Trinidad & Tobago Ltd.



2 Venezuela

Norway's Statoil and its French partner Total SA have discovered approximately 7 trillion cu. ft. of gas on their Deltana Platform Block 4, offshore Venezuela's east coast, according to Business News Americas. The Cocuina 2-X discovery was the second well the partners drilled on the block. Their first, Ballenas 1-X, was abandoned for safety reasons. The Venezuelan government had issued a predrill estimate of 300 billion cu. ft. of gas on the block.



3 Ireland

Providence Resources Plc and partners ExxonMobil and Sosina Exploration Ltd. have received licenses for 15 new blocks in the Goban Spur area off Ireland's west coast. The licenses cover blocks 61/17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 24 and 25 and 62/21 on the Goban Graben and blocks 61/14 and 15 and 62/11, 16, 17 and 22 in the Goban Spur Basin, totaling territory of some 4,000 sq. kilometers. The companies have three years for research and during this time may apply for a standard exploration license and commit to drilling a well. The area lies about 300 kilometers off Ireland's southwestern coast and 150 kilometers south of the companies' Dunquin prospect area. ExxonMobil holds 80% of the partnership, Dublin-based Providence holds 16% and operates, and London-based Sosina has the remaining 4%.



4 U.K.

Talisman Energy tapped the U.K.'s Outer Moray Firth for a discovery in Block 20/5a near Buchan and Tweedsmuir fields, according to Ogilvie's E&P Daily. The Calgary company's 20/5a-10y well flowed at a daily rate of 11,000 bbl. of oil from two Jurassic sands. It lies three kilometers north of Talisman's Buchan Field and 12 kilometers southwest of Tweedsmuir South Field. The operator plans a 3-D seismic survey to help determine development options.



5 Egypt

Sipetrol has made an oil discovery in Egypt. The company, the international subsidiary of Chile's state oil company Enap, made the discovery at its Shahd-1 in the East Ras Qattara block west of Cairo. The well was drilled to a depth of 3,480 meters and flowed at rates of 700 to 1,000 bbl. of 41-degree crude per day. Sipetrol is the block's operator with a 50.5% stake, with Australian company Oil Search holding the balance.

In separate activity, Houston-based Apache Corp. has made a discovery in Egypt's Western Desert using a new exploration model. The Kahraman B-22 wildcat, drilled 29 kilometers north of Qasr Field, tested 16 million cu. ft. of gas and 486 bbl. of condensate per day from a 12-meter section in the Jurassic Lower Safa formation. The prospect was identified using a new Jurassic exploration model based on analysis of Qasr, a 2-trillion-cu.-ft. field that was discovered on the Khalda concession in 2003.



6 Mali

ENI will become operator of five blocks in the Taoudeni Basin in Mali. The Italian firm joined Sonatrach and farmed into blocks 1, 2, 3, 4 and 9, held by Baraka Petroleum. ENI will earn a 50% interest and assume operatorship in all five licenses, and Sonatrach will earn a 25% stake. Australian firm Baraka will recoup all past costs associated with its exploration program and will be carried for a significant part of upcoming exploration. The blocks cover approximately 193,200 sq. kilometers.



7 Syria

Royal Dutch Shell and Syria recently signed two 20-year exploration contracts worth $42 million, according to the Saudi Press Agency. Under one contract, Shell will explore an area in northeastern Syria that extends from southwest of Deir El-Zour, some 450 kilometers northeast of Damascus, to the Iraqi border. The other contract covers an area south of Palmyra and 250 kilometers northeast of Damascus. Under both arrangements, Syria will keep 12.5% of any oil or gas produced and Shell will train Syrian Oil Co. employees.



8 Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia expects to add at least 20% to its existing reserves of 242 trillion cu. ft. of gas reserves within the next 10 years, said Saudi Aramco. The company plans to drill 309 development wells and 67 exploration wells between 2007 and 2011. Exploration programs in the Red Sea and Nafud Basin will start during the same period. The company's efforts also include exploration drilling in the Mid-East Gulf, and new wells in offshore Karan Field. Additionally, it has four joint ventures with foreign companies exploring for gas in the Empty Quarter desert region in the south of the country.



9 Iran

Chinese firm Sinopec is edging toward a mammoth development deal for Yadavaran Field in Iran. The contract to develop Yadavaran is complete and ready to be signed, according to the Iranian oil ministry. Under the deal, Sinopec will pay Iran up to $100 billion during 25 years for oil and gas supplies and for a 51% stake in Yadavaran. The field contains estimated recoverable oil reserves of 3 billion bbl. The deal will also give China the right to buy 150,000 bbl. of Iranian oil per day and 10 million metric tons of LNG per year for 25 years. Royal Dutch Shell, which has worked as a technical consultant for Sinopec on the deal, will take part in the field's development. Shell officials have said the company is seeking a 20% stake in the field. Yadavaran is expected to eventually produce 300,000 bbl. of oil per day.



10 Turkey

Calgary-based operator Stratic Energy Corp. and Dallas-based Toreador Resources Corp., in a joint venture with TPAO, the Turkish national oil company, plan to start production shortly from their South Akcakoca Sub-basin property in the Black Sea, offshore Turkey's north coast. The companies also have a semisubmersible drilling rig working on the second phase of the sub-basin development in deeper water. They are finishing an onshore gas plant and an 18-kilometer onshore pipeline to move the gas to the national grid.



11 Vietnam

Soco International, London, tested oil at a rate of 7,050 bbl. of oil equivalent per day in its Ca Ngu Vang Field on Vietnam's Block 9-2. The CNV-4X ST tested for 5,333 bbl. of oil and 10.3 million cu. ft. of gas per day from an open-hole basement interval at 1,350 meters. Drilled to 6,330 meters, the well was the longest measured-depth hole drilled to date offshore Vietnam.

Nearby, the VRJ Petroleum consortium of PetroVietnam, Russia's Zarubezhneft and Japan's Idemitsu Oil & Gas tested 3,774 bbl. of oil per day from their Block 9-3. The discovery was drilled to 4,130 meters. According to the Russian company, the 03-9-DM-2X well is on Doi Moi Field. It estimated reserves on the block at up to 513 million bbl. of oil.



12 Timor Leste

Italy's ENI has signed for five production-sharing contracts that cover more than 12,000 sq. kilometers offshore the southern coast of Timor Leste. The five blocks, which are in up to 3,000 meters of water, were part of the country's first licensing round. ENI holds 100% interest and has committed to drill two wells during the initial three years of the contracts.



13 Australia

Apache Corp. has submitted a development plan to the Australian government for Theo-Van Gogh Field offshore Western Australia. The Houston-based firm plans to use a floating production, storage and offloading development. Production is to commence in the second half of 2008 with net rates of 20,000 bbl. of oil per day. The Theo and Van Gogh finds are in a pre-defined area in Block WA-155-P, which Apache operates with 52.5%. Inpex has 47.5%. Woodside Petroleum is developing Vincent Field in the rest of the concession and is operator of that sector.