?Declining Cantarell Field oil production, limited technology, the international financial crisis, falling oil prices, prohibitive constitutional restrictions, and internal growth and demand have put pressure on Mexico’s government to crack, if not fully open, its doors to foreign oil company exploration, production and investment.
Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex), formed from expropriated assets of Chevron and ExxonMobil in 1938, may award external oil production and exploration contracts by the end of 2009 to producers such as Chevron, ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell. The contracts will focus on deepwater projects for its offshore Chicontepec development, which has an estimated 30 billion barrels in the Gulf of Mexico. Pemex had forecasted that Chicontepec would produce 1 million barrels of oil per day by 2010, but so far, drilling results have been disappointing.
Pemex may begin production at its Lakach deepwater gas field in 2013, at a daily rate of 400 million cubic feet. Crude output at other deepwater wells may not begin until 2015. In addition, Petrobras, Pemex, and Brazilian and Mexican government officials have reportedly discussed technical and teaming agreements, including a possible partnership between Petrobras and Pemex in oil and gas investments outside of Mexico.
—Larry Prado

?1 Canada
Corridor Resources of Halifax, Nova Scotia, reported on two development discoveries in its exploration program in New Brunswick. In the southern part of the province, #C-29 McCully was drilled to 3,390 meters and hit a total of 51 net meters of gas-bearing sands. The #P-47 McCully well was drilled to a total depth of 3,178 meters and encountered a total of 93 net meters of indicated gas-bearing sands. Both wells encountered varying amounts of bitumen in some of the gas-bearing intervals. Five additional wells are planned for completion in 2009, including a potential step-out to offset the McCully Field South Branch #G-36 discovery well.

2 Cuba
Cuba’s state-owned Cupet plans to drill 16 of its 24 wells this year, mostly in Varadero Field. With about 4.5 billion bbl. of proven oil, the field has Cuba’s largest oil reserves. Using national funding, the wells will be drilled in offshore shallow-water plays with the help of foreign and Cuban companies. Industry analysts say that Cuba’s offshore sites, which the USGS estimates may hold 4.6 billion bbl. of oil and 9.8 trillion cu. ft. of gas, will be difficult and expensive to explore and produce.

3 Colombia
A Middle Magdalena Basin oil discovery was announced by the Bogota-based Union Temporal Petrocaribe consortium in the La Paloma Exploration & Production Contract. IHS Inc. reported that #1 Colon ST1 recovered about 5,899 bbl. of 22-degree API gravity crude from perforations at 2,671-81 meters in the Umir (F sand) formation. It was drilled to a total depth of about 2,781 meters, presumably targeting objectives in the La Paz, Lisama and Umir formations. The Colon prospect is estimated to have recoverable reserves of up to 19.8 million bbl. of oil.

4 Trinidad
At Canadian Superior Energy Inc.’s Endeavour well, drilled on the Intrepid Block 5(c), offshore Trinidad, initial flow during a 16-hour period was reported at a peak rate of 60.1 million cu. ft. per day, limited by available test equipment. A final flow rate of 56.4 million cu. ft. per day was measured with a 48/64-in. choke. During the initial flow period, the well flowed dry gas with a gravity of approximately 0.6, and 0.3% CO2 with no production of water, condensate or solids. The Endeavour well was drilled in about 1,000 ft. of water. Canadian Superior of Calgary has two previous gas discoveries on Block 5(c); Victory and Bounty.

5 Iceland
Interest in Iceland’s Dreki area oil potential is growing. According to E&P Daily, the country’s National Energy Authority (NEA) believes that recent seismic studies and reevaluation of available data indicate the presence of thick Mesozoic sediments, similar to those found in adjacent and geologically related oil provinces of Norway and Greenland. The NEA reported that surface pockmarks, similar to those known to cluster around major fields in the North Sea, were recently discovered in the area. Iceland has launched its first licensing round covering the Dreki area, part of the Jan Mayen Ridge micro-continent, which was separated from the continental shelf of Greenland and Norway by plate tectonic movement 45- to 60 million years ago.

6 North Sea
IHS Inc. reports that Norwegian firm StatoilHydro has encountered oil and gas in the Katla Prospect, which lies 11 kilometers southwest of the Oseberg South platform in the Norwegian North Sea. Proven recoverable volumes are 50- to 80 million bbl. of oil equivalent, with the bulk of the resources in the Tarbert formation in the Upper Brent group. Oil and gas were found in this structure, while gas was also proven in Upper Jurassic reservoir rocks belonging to the Heather formation. StatoilHydro is the License 104 operator with 49.3%, and other licensees are ConocoPhillips with 2.4%, ExxonMobil with 4.7%, Petoro with 33.6% and Total with 10%.

7 Morocco
Circle Oil of Houston has announced test results for two zones at #8-KSR in the Sebou permit in the Rharb Basin in Morocco. The Upper Hoot formation was logged at a depth of 1,755-58 meters and flowed at an average rate of 6.76 million cu. ft. per day through a 24/64-in. choke with no liquids. The second zone, a twin sand in the Main Hoot formation, was logged at depths of 1,847-49 meters, and 1,853-63 meters, with net pay of 2.5 meters and 11.5 meters, respectively. The lower of the two zones in the Main Hoot formation flowed gas at a sustained rate of 12.48 million cu. ft. per day using a 28/64-in. choke and produced no liquids. The Sebou permit lies to the northeast of Rabat. In the concession agreement, Circle has a 75% share and ONHYM, the Moroccan state oil company, has a 25% share.

8 Egypt
Dana Gas has reported two significant gas discoveries in Egypt’s Nile Delta region. In the West Manzala Concession, #2-West Manzala on the Haggag prospect encountered a reservoir of about 20 billion cu. ft. The well was drilled to a total depth of 4,954 ft. in the Kafr El Sheikh formation. The production test, performed in the lower sand only, flowed 11 million cu. ft. per day of dry gas through a 32/64-in. choke. According to preliminary estimates, the second discovery, #1-Azhar, has reserves exceeding 100 billion cu. ft. of gas, although drilling and well information are not available. Additional wells are planned for other potential hydrocarbon-bearing zones that could increase the total reserves up to 150 billion cu. ft. Dana Gas headquarters are in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.

9 China
According to E&P Daily, a discovery of a multimillion-barrel potential oil field has been made in the Siziwang Banner province of China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Officials from the region said the oil field has recoverable reserves of 257- to 293 million bbl. The Siziwang Banner government plans to spend about $3 million in 2009 to set up five sites for further exploration, and to invest $29.2 million in 100 oil wells by the end of 2010. The field is expected to initially produce 3,665 bbl. of oil per day, and 20,464 bbl. per day at the full capacity.

10 China
Husky Energy reports that first-appraisal testing in a deepwater Pearl River Mouth Basin discovery indicates gas can be produced at more than 150 million cu. ft. per day. In the first of six wells scheduled in 2009, #3-1-2 Liwan flowed 53 million cu. ft. per day after drilling to a total depth of 3,887 meters in 1,345 meters of water on PSCA 2926. Reportedly, a 36-meter net gas pay was discovered over the main reservoir zone. Liwan 3-1 Field is located on Block 29/26, South China Sea. A deepwater rig will drill a second appraisal well before moving on to additional exploration wells in the area. Husky, based in Calgary, is the operator for Block 29/26 and signed a production-sharing agreement with China National Offshore Oil Corp. in 2004.

11 Papua New Guinea
According to IHS Inc., Inter­Oil’s #1-Antelope discovery could hold more than 10 trillion cu. ft. of gas. The 1-Antelope in eastern Papua New Guinea has a hydrocarbon column of more than 2,600 ft., making it the largest onshore well in the Asia Pacific region. One flow test recorded a maximum calculated rate of 545 million cu. ft. per day. The reading was through a 6-in.-capacity choke that was only opened to 3.5 inches (approximately 30% of capacity). Latest tests showed the well flowed at a rate of 383 million cu. ft. of gas and 5,000 bbl. of condensate per day. InterOil is based in Houston.­