British Columbia’s final land sale of 2007 pushed the Canadian province’s annual total to C$1.05 billion, smashing the previous record of C$643 million set in 2003. The December 12 sale netted C$401 million, the second-highest monthly total in the province’s history.

Besides setting an annual high for revenue, 2007 land sales set a per-acre record of C$711, on 1.47 million acres sold. That easily surpassed B.C.’s previous per-acre record of C$373, set in 2005.

The high bid in the December sale was C$102.6 million for a 16,400-acre parcel in 93-P-10, 76-18, 77-17, 77-18 and 77-18 W6M, submitted by Calgary-based broker Landsolutions Inc. The tract is the Montney play, southwest of Dawson Creek. The popular area, which also drew substantial bids for acreage offsetting Landsolution’s block, is north of a Brassey play operated by ConocoPhillips subsidiary Burlington Resources Canada (Hunter) Ltd. at 93-P-10. EnCana Corp. also has a Swan play in the area in 93-P-9, reports Nickle’s Petroleum Explorer.

The B.C. prime minister attributed the strong showing to industry confidence, intense interest in unconventional resources and high levels of investment. The average price per-acre is higher in B.C. than anywhere else in Canada.

—Peggy Williams

1 Canada

Galleon Energy Inc., Calgary, continues to find success along the flank of the Peace River Arch in Alberta. Galleon has set a 2008 capital budget of C$200 million to C$210 million to drill 118 wells. Plans call for 71 light-oil, 44 gas and three heavy-oil wells. Light-oil development and exploration will focus on Granite Wash, Wabamun and Beaverhill Lake plays at Kimiwan and Mclean Creek, Eaglesham and Puskwa. Gas in the Dawson Montney will be another focus of the company’s program. Galleon produced 17,000 bbl. of oil equivalent at year-end 2007, and plans to exit 2008 at production between 20,000 and 22,000 bbl. oil equivalent per day.

2 Canada

Storm Cat Energy Corp., Denver, reports that it has nine wells on production that produce between 1- and 1.3 million cu. ft. of gas per day total in its 78,000-acre Elk Valley coalbed-methane project in southeastern British Columbia. Dewatering efforts are continuing. This year, Storm Cat plans to install larger downhole pumps to expedite the dewatering process and, to fully assess production potential at Elk Valley, it must lower fluid levels below the lowermost coal seam.

3 Trinidad & Tobago

BP Plc, London, reports that the offshore Mango Field is now producing from nine wells in South East Galeota Block. BP, 100% owner of the license, says Mango will make 750 million cu. ft. of gas per day. The field is 56 kilometers southeast of Galeota Point in 72 meters of water. Gas flows from a single unmanned platform through a 6.4-kilometer pipeline to a liquefaction plant.

4 Bolivia

Spanish firm Repsol-YPF tested a discovery flowing 28.25 million cu. ft. of gas and 900 bbl. of condensate per day, reports IHS Inc. Shut-in tubing pressure was 7,000 psi. Initial proved and probable reserves are 1.5 trillion cu. ft. of gas and 40 million bbl. of condensate. The Huacaya X-1D ST well was drilled to a total measured depth of 4,800 meters in southern Caipipendi Centro Block. It extended the Margarita productive trend more than 12 kilometers northeast.

5 Chile

The Chilean mining ministry has awarded nine oil and gas E&P contracts to several operators including Total SA, Apache Corp., PanAmerican Energy LLC and Greymouth Petroleum Holding Ltd. All tracts combined will require a minimum investment of $267 million. One block received no bids and could possibly launch a new tender. The companies have a six-month period to start work after signing. The nine blocks are in the southernmost Magallanes region.

6 Norway

DNO ASA, Oslo, operator of production license 337, has completed exploration well 15/12-18S and appraisal well 15/12-18A between Sleipner Ost and Varg fields in the North Sea, both discoveries in Paleocene reservoirs. The 15/12-18S was drilled to a depth of 3,520 meters and encountered 23 meters of oil in sandstones in the Ty formation. Appraisal well 15/12-18A encountered pay in the Heimdal formation in a sidetrack. DNO’s partners in the license are Dana Petroleum, Revus Energy and Bridge Energy.

7 Bulgaria

Melrose Resources, Edinburgh, Scotland, decided to withdraw from deepwater areas in the Bulgarian sector of the Black Sea and refocus on opportunities around Galata Field, its shallow-water development. Last year, Melrose drilled three wells on its deepwater licenses but did not make a commercial discovery. It concluded that the hydrocarbon system was active, but reservoirs were limited, reports E&P Daily. The company-operated Galata Field, Bulgaria’s first offshore development, has made 53 billion cu. ft. of gas between June 2004 and mid-2007. Production levels are 29.2 million cubic feet per day. Melrose plans to drill the Galata East-2 appraisal well in an eastern fault block in the field, and is interested in making Galata a gas-storage field.

8 Libya

ExxonMobil Corp., Irving, Texas, has inked agreements for four ultra-deepwater blocks offshore Libya. It has taken the blocks in Contract Area 21, about 176 kilometers off the coast in 1,646 to 2,652 meters of water. It already holds neighboring Contract Area 20 where a seismic program is in progress. Recent deepwater exploration off Libya has been limited to four wells by Australian firm Woodside Petroleum, but three were dry and one provided only gas shows. ExxonMobil committed to a five-year work program consisting of at least 4,000 kilometers of 2-D seismic, 2,000 sq. kilometers of 3-D seismic, and a deepwater exploration well. The agreement also stipulates the payment of a signature bonus, a training program to help upgrade the skills of nationals and other support for education in Libya.

9 Mali

Heritage Oil Corp., Calgary, has farmed into two blocks that cover 72,000 sq. kilometers in Mali. It has had success in Uganda, and has taken 75% working interests in, and operations of, blocks 7 and 11 from Centric Energy. In return, Heritage will fund all costs of the obligatory work programs for the next two years in both blocks, including acquiring 2-D seismic and drilling one exploration well. Total estimated cost for the two licenses is between $15- and $20 million. Activity has been growing in Mali as ENI, Sonatrach, Sinopec, Sphere Investments, Tink Petroleum, Trans Ocean Securities and Selier Energy all have taken stakes in the past year.

10 Namibia

Sintezneftegaz, Russia, will spud a rare wildcat offshore Namibia in early 2008. As operator of Block 1711, it will drill the Kunene well in the Namibe Basin along Namibia’s international boundary with Angola. This will be the 16th well to be drilled since Namibia’s independence and the first exploration well for several years. To date, the only discovery offshore Namibia has been Kudu Field, found by Chevron in 1973. Tullow Oil is still trying to commercialize the field through a gas-to-power project.

11 Azerbaijan

Partners led by BP in giant Shah Deniz Field southeast of Baku in the Caspian Sea report a major gas condensate discovery in a high-pressure reservoir in a deeper structure below the existing gas-producing zone. BP drilled SDX-04 to a depth of 7,300 meters, a record depth for a Caspian Sea well. The well is on the southwestern flank of the Shah Deniz area. The discovery sets up a second development stage for the area. If appraisals of the discovery confirm estimates, the second development phase could be at least as large as the 303.6 billion cu. ft. per year produced in the first phase.

12 India

Cairn India Ltd., a unit of Edinburgh, Scotland-based Cairn Energy Plc, expects to produce 125,000 bbl. of oil per day at its Mangala Field in the western state of Rajasthan, some 25% above previous estimates. Mangala is expected to start producing in 2009. Cairn spent $100 million and drilled 13 wells in Rajasthan last year, and plans a similar investment this year. Cairn owns a 70% stake in the Mangala block and India’s state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp. owns the remaining 30%.

13 China

Chevron Corp. and China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) have agreed to jointly develop the Chuandongbei gas area in Sichuan province. Chevron will operate and hold a 49% interest in the project, and CNPC will hold 51%. The 2,000-sq.-kilometer Chuandongbei area includes Tieshanpo, Dukouhe-Qilibei and Luojiazhai fields and has an estimated resource base of 5 trillion cu. ft. of gas. Daily production capacity is expected to be 740 million cu. ft.

14 Australia

Murphy Oil, El Dorado, Ark., Thailand’s state-owned PTTEP and Finder Exploration Pty. Ltd., Australia, have entered a joint-participation agreement for the AC/P36 concession offshore Western Australia. In the deal, Murphy will be the operator with a 40% interest, Finder will have 40%; PTTEP, 20%. The partners plan to drill one exploration well by year-end 2008 or first-quarter 2009. AC/P36 covers 4,000 sq. kilometers in Browse Basin. The acreage is covered with 3-D seismic and holds a number of attractive, already-defined prospects.