Oil & Gas Discoveries in West Africa in 2011

A study using the ‘docsearch tool’ by Derrick Petroleum Services reveals that there were 40 successful wells drilled in West Africa.

Out of these, 2 were in the Cote d’Ivoire, 2 in Sierra Leone, 7 in Mauritania, 17 in Ghana, and 1 in Guinea Bissau. 14 were exploration wells and the remaining were appraisals.

13 were operated by Kosmos, while 10 were drilled by Tullow.

A few of these discoveries are listed below

Operator	Name	Country
Anadarko Petroleum	Mercury	Sierra Leone
Anadarko Petroleum	Venus B-1	Sierra Leone
Dana Petroleum	Cormoran	Mauritania
Dana Petroleum	Aigrette	Mauritania
Dana Petroleum	Pelican	Mauritania
Eni	Gye Nyame-1	Ghana
Eni	Sankofa-1A	Ghana
Eni	Sankofa-2	Ghana
Hess	Paradise-1	Ghana
Kosmos Energy	Makore	Ghana
Kosmos Energy	Banda West	Ghana
Kosmos Energy	Teak-1	Ghana
Kosmos Energy	Akasa-1	Ghana
Kosmos Energy	Teak-2	Ghana
Kosmos Energy	Mahogany-5	Ghana

Source: Derrick Petroleum 'DocSearch'

To get more information on exploration in West Africa use the new Derrick OIl & Gas search tool. A sample search for West Africa is provided in the link below. 

http://docsearch.derrickpetroleum.com/search/q/West%20africa%20discovery/date/year/document/4/page/0/

Liberia on course to prove oil riches in 2011. Companies that stand to gain..

Liberia  is a country on the west coast of Africa, bordered by Sierra Leone on the West,Guinea on the north, Côte d'Ivoire on the east, and the Atlantic Ocean on the south. The potential for significant oil and gas discoveries in Liberia is huge, given some recent exploratory success in the region, especially Anadarko’s Mercury and Venus discoveries in neighbouring Sierra Leone’s waters. No commercial deposits have so far been found in Liberia and therefore there is no production or field development. However, this might soon change, as companies are looking to drill different plays than the old conventional structural traps. Here are the companies active in Liberia and looking to drill in 2011 and 2012. 


Material has been sourced from Derrick Petroleum's exhaustive data on exploration and deals. The Derrick Petroleum Planned Exploration Wells Database is an extremely useful research tool to keep track of exploratory drilling of companies by region, year, etc. It will also be useful to E&P companies for identifying farm-in opportunities and to oil field services companies for identifying sales opportunities.

Table showing companies looking to drill in Liberia. Source: Derrick Petroleum Planned Exploration Wells Database.

Anadarko operates blocks LB 15, LB 16 and 17 which cover an area of 3400, 3225, and 3150 sq km respectively. In 2008, Anadarko acquired a 4700-sq kms of 3D-seismic survey on these blocks. The 3D was used to develop deepwater Cretaceous fan prospects. A key target called Montserrado (Cobalt) in Block 15 is planned to be drilled in H2 2011. The prospective resources for the Cobalt prospect is estimated to be about 1.2 bbls. Anadarko holds 57.5% interest along with Tullow Oil (25%) and Repsol YPF (17.5%)

Map showing location of Liberian Blocks along with their operators. Source: Modified from Simba Energy.

Simba Energy has a 100% interest in the onshore NR-001 licence which covers an area of 1,366 square kilometers within the Roberts and Bassa Basins of south coastal Liberia. An Application to convert its current Hydrocarbon Reconnaissance Licence NR-001 into a Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) has been submitted to the Liberian government. The company carried out an oil seep survey on its property in 2010 using a team of 25 geology students. Reportedly, oil seeps were found on all their traverses. Evaluation of the oil associated with the seeps indicates it is economically desirable ‘mature oil.’

Chevron operates blocks LB-11, LB-12 & LB-14 which together cover an area of ~9,600 sq km. Two wells are scheduled to be drilled on these blocks in 2011 and 1 in 2012. Cheveron has a 70% interest in the blocks while Oranto Petroleum has 30%.

African Petroleum Corporation Ltd (APCL) has a 100% interest in 2 blocks: LB-8 and LB-9. The company has completed the acquisition and interpretation of about 5,100 sq km of 3D seismic over these blocks. About 40 leads and prospects have been identified s in the Upper Cretaceous section, some of which have been said to be similar Anadarko’s recent discoveries at Mercury and Venus, immediately to the north west. The Company has contracted the ultra deepwater semisubmersible, Maersk Deliverer to drill two exploration wells over the blocks with the first well in June 2011 as part of a two-well programme. 

In all 5 wells are scheduled to be drilled in 2011. The potential is enormous!

For more information of discoveries and exploration plans for the following West African countries, click on the following links. Cote D’ivoire; Ghana discoveries; Ghana Exploration in 2011, Exploration in Mauritania, Benin & Togo; Angola; Sierra Leone; Sengal; List of West African discoveries in 2010 – 2011.

For more presentations on "Liberia", use our oil and gas document library:

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Mauritania, Benin and Togo: Overview of Oil and Gas Discoveries and Exploration in 2011

                                                        

Mauritania, Togo and Benin are countries in West Africa that are generating a lot of interest due to some significant discoveries in adjacent regions. This article provides an overview of exploration activity in these countries and the main active players looking to explore in 2011 and beyond.

The following table lists the companies with plans to drill or conduct exploratory studies leading to drilling in this region.

Source: Derrick Planned Exploration Wells Database. The number of columns has been minimized to fit the table on the page. The actual database has many more parameters listed and recorded. 

For more information of discoveries and exploration plans for the following West African countries, click on the following links. Cote D’ivoire; Ghana discoveries; Ghana Exploration in 2011; Angola; Sierra Leone; Sengal; List of West African discoveries in 2010 – 2011; Liberia

                                                                          Mauritania

Discoveries
The Chinguetti oilfield is located off the Mauritanian coast in 800m of water. It was discovered by the Australian firm Woodside Petroleum in 2001. It is named after the city of Chinguetti. Oil production began in February 2006 from the Chinguetti oilfield, which is located in the Atlantic Ocean 56 miles southwest of Nauakchott.  According to the Energy Information Agency (EIA), a division of the US Energy Department, oil output began at 30,620 barrels per day (bpd). Production quickly climbed to 75,000 bpd by late 2006.  However, in 2007, output  declined dramatically because of “geological complexities” and by the spring of 2008, production was just 11,500 bpd.  Field production declined from 8,600 b/d in January 2009 to 7,400 b/d in December last year. Given the decline in production, the partners in the field are mulling shutting down operations there. Domestic consumption of oil is 21,000 bpd. In addition to Chinguetti field, Mauritania has several other offshore oil and natural gas fields that are being developed.  Proven oil reserves are estimated at 100 mn barrels, which is 21.4 years of production at the 2008 extraction rate. 

Map of Blocks in Mauritania. Source: Roc Oil

The Pelican-1 exploration well located in the southern part of Block 7 was drilled in over 5,500 feet of water to a total depth of approximately 12,500 feet. The well discovered a significant hydrocarbon bearing sequence spanning over 1,000 feet in height. 

The Banda field was discovered in 2002. The Banda Field is in approximately 300 metres of water and spans PSC Area A and PSC Area B. The Banda Field is estimated to contain upto 3 – 5 tcf of natural gas. In 2008, two successful appraisal wells were drilled on the Banda discovery; Banda North West and Banda East. The same oil and gas contact was encountered at all three wells in the Banda field. During 2009 the seismic and well data was incorporated into the geological model to determine the commercial potential of the field and this work is ongoing.

The Tiof discovery is located approximately 90 kilometres west of Nouakchott, the Mauritanian capital, and 25 kilometres north of the Chinguetti Field. The Tiof field is estimated to hold 350 million barrels of oil. It was discovered in 2003. The discovery of the 1.5 trillion cubic feet Pelican field on Block 7 by British firm Dana Petroleum added to the excitement.

The Tevet Field was discovered in 2005 by the operator Woodside Petroleum, and is believed to contain between 50 million and 100 million barrels of oil and may be tied into the Chinguetti development.

The Cormoran-1 exploration well, located in offshore Block 7, completed drilling in January 2011. It lies ~ 2km to the south of the Pelican-1 gas discovery well, which was drilled in late 2003. The objective of the well was to appraise the Pelican gas discovery and to target two underlying exploration prospects, Cormoran and Petronia. The well successfully intersected gas in both Pelican and Cormoran. The Pelican interval was flow tested at a stabilised flow rate of approximately 23 mscfd. In the deeper Petronia target, the well encountered rich gas in Turonian-age reservoirs. However, drilling had to be stopped for operational reasons soon after penetrating the trap. Dana Petroleum (36%) is the operator of the block and the other partners are Woodside (15%), Gaz de France (27.85%), Tullow (16.2%) and Roc Oil (4.95%).

Exploration in 2011

The TA7 and TA8 permits are located onshore in central Mauritania. A well was drilled in TA8 in 2009 which failed to encounter hydrocarbons. A 1000 sq km of 2D seismic acquisition over TA7 commenced in early 2011. Total (60%) is the operator of the permits along with partners Sonatrach (20%) and Qatar Petroleum (20%).

Apart from the Cormoran-1 exploration well mentioned above, the result from the Gharabi-1 well in Block 6 was announced in February 2011. The well, which was selected by the operator to meet licence commitments, intersected poorly developed water-bearing reservoirs. In 2011, the partners plan to continue defining prospects throughout the Mauritania-Senegal basin with further planned exploration activity in 2011 and 2012. Petronas (72.60%) is the operator of Block 6 along with partners Tullow (22.4%) and Roc Oil (5%). The Sidewinder prospect in this block is due to be drilled in the second half of 2011.

The highest profile investor has been Petronas, which bought a 47.4% stake in the Chinguetti project from Woodside. It is part of a $418m package that also gives the Malaysian firm the role of operator on the Banda, Banda Tevet and Tiof fields.

There is certainly plenty of scope for further discoveries offshore Mauritania, particularly given the short history of hydrocarbon exploration in the country. The eight blocks, over which exploration can happen, cover most of the country's offshore acreage and are huge in comparison with the concessions carved out in Nigeria and elsewhere in the Gulf of Guinea.

  

                                                                              Togo

Togo is a country lying between Ghana and Benin. Recent high profile successes in neighbouring Ghana have transformed the exploratory potential of its offshore acreage. ENI acquired Blocks 1 & 2 and has a 100% interest. The blocks are located in the Dahomey Basin, offshore Togo. The blocks are scarcely explored and are bordered to the west by the analogous Tano basin where major discoveries have been made previously. ENI plans to commence an aggressive exploration program in 2011 which could culminate with the drilling of a well in 2012. ENI announced on March 10, 2011, in its 2011-2014 Strategic Plan that it will spend about €53.3 billion for ­upstream ­activities to increase global oil and gas and to start new projects in promising exploration prospects in countries such as Togo, Ghana, Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique. 

                                                                               Benin

The Republic of Benin is situated to the west of Nigeria. The offshore basin includes the Seme north and Seme south fields (80 mmboe) discovered in 1975, and the Hihon-1 and Fifa-1 discoveries (drilled by Kerr McGee which was later acquired by Anadarko). Onshore, a tar belt in the coastal region has been sourced from a Lower Cretaceous lacustrine kitchen located offshore. These hydrocarbons prove the existence of working petroleum systems in the region and there appears to be considerable remaining exploration potential in the offshore area.

Anadarko drilled the Sota 1 wildcat in 1,924m of water on Block 4 during the summer of 2007 which was dry.

Figure of blocks in Benin. Source TGS

Petrobras recently entered Benin by acquiring a 50% interest in Block 4 which covers a huge area of 7400 sq km. The block lies at a water depth that varies from 200 to 3,000 m, and is about 60 Km from the coast. The block is located in the Gulf of Guinea’s Dahomey Basin. Lusitania Petroleum holds the remaining 50% and is operator although Petrobras has the option to assume operatorship. The company has made a commitment to collect and process 2,250 sq km of 3D seismic data by the end of 2011 and once the exploratory potential of the area is confirmed, the consortium will commence operations, initially drilling 3 wells.

Senegal - Overview of Oil and Gas Exploration and Main Players

Senegal is the westernmost country in West Africa. In the last 48 years, more than 145 hydrocarbon exploration wells have been drilled in Senegalese territory. At least 49 of these were drilled offshore, with 23 of these being located in the Casamance Offshore. The other area of interest that has been drilled is onshore in the vicinity of the Cape Vert Peninsula. The rest of the Senegal Basin outside these areas remains under-explored. An overview of exploration activity in Senegal is provided below.

 For a list of West African oil discoveries in 2010 - 2011 click here. For information on Angola (South West Africa), click here. For a list of recent discoveries and exploration plans in neighbouring Ghana, click here, and for a list of all discoveries in Ghana click here. All information has been sourced from Derrick Petroleum's extensive exploration and deals databases.For a list of discoveries and exploration plans in Cote D'Ivoire in 2011 click here. 

Petroleum prospecting in Senegal started in the 1950s and in the 60’s and 70’s a number of small fields were discovered, but were uneconomical and not exploited. In the late 1970s, offshore exploration started again and a field of heavy crude oil of 1 billion barrels was discovered. So far only one gas field (Diam Niadio 14) has been discovered. The only hydrocarbon production in Senegal at the moment is from the Gadiaga Field, about 60km north-east of Dakar. Fortesa holds 70% in the Gadiaga Development Area, with the remaining 30% held by Petrosen, the national oil company of Senegal. 

First Australian Resources Ltd (FAR) has 3 Blocks covering 2,086 sq km in Senegal. The Rufisque, Sangomar and Sangomar Deep offshore Production Sharing Contracts (PSC) cover an area of ~ 7,490 km² over the shelf, slope, and basin floor of the Senegalese portion of the productive Mauritania-Senegal-Guinea-Bissau Basin. 3D seismic has been acquired and multiple prospects ranging from 200 million bbl to greater than 1 billion bbl potential have been mapped and identified. FAR is looking for a partner in Senegal (up to 50% available). FAR currently operates the blocks with a 100% interest but Ophir can earn the right to acquire a 25% interest in Senegal licence areas within 60 days of drilling the Kora prospect and in this case will also be appointed as operator.

Three  Exploration and Production Sharing Contracts were signed between Oranto Petroleum Ltd, a Nigerian based company and the State of Senegal, on 3rd December 2009 for the following blocks: Cayar Offshore, Saloum and Senegal Onshore South.

 Map of Blocks in Senegal. Modified from Petrosen.

The Saint Louis Block covers the northern-most inshore section of the Senegalese offshore area and covers an area of 2,807 sq km. Energy Africa acquired the St. Louis exploration licence with Petrosen in late 2003. Tullow operates the licence with a 60 percent interest. Dana acquired a 30 percent interest from Tullow in the fourth quarter of 2004. Petrosen holds the remaining 10 percent. The operator Tullow is looking to replicate the success of its West African Cretaceous play in this block in Senegal. Although no plans have been put forward by the partners, exploration activity with drilling of a well on this block is a high possibility for 2012.

The Sebikhotane block has had many wells drilled and several seismic lines acquired including 3D covering 120 square kilometers around the Diam Niadio area since 1986. A Petroleum Sharing Agreement covering this block was signed with the Consortium Maurel & Prom – Orchard in July 2002. Maurel & Prom had planned to drill the KN-1 and BAOBAB-1 exploration wells in 2010, but it seems the drilling of these wells is on hold pending further information from the company.

The Thies block was first granted to Petrosen in 1993. With the Cooperation of PCIAC, the interpretation of different studies and surveys resulted in the identification of four prospects named respectively Gadiaga, Diender, Sebissou and Mont-Rolland. A drilling program of four exploration wells kicked off with the first well Gadiaga-2 (Gd-2) which was drilled between November 96 and January 97 at a total depth of 2180 m in Lower Senonian interval. Several interesting levels were encountered and six of them tested in the Senonian section with two levels in the Campanian giving commercial gas. A Production sharing agreement was signed in February 2001 with Fortesa Corporation, a Houston based company, for the production of the Gadiaga gas field and to continue the exploration of the Thies block. 

List of West African Oil Discoveries in 2010 - 2011.

Ok.., here it is.. One of the most definitive lists of discoveries in West Africa for 2010-2011 so far. There is increasing excitement about the vast potential in West Africa's offshore basins and I thought it would be worthwhile to list them out. The material has been sourced from Derrick Petroleum's exhaustive data on exploration and deals. For the record, I consider Angola part of West Africa here, although to be more precise, it is located in South-West-Central Africa. 

For more information of discoveries and exploration plans for the following West African countries in 2011, click on the following links. Cote D’ivoire; Ghana discoveries; Ghana Exploration in 2011, Exploration in Mauritania, Benin & Togo; Angola; Sierra Leone; Sengal; Liberia; Cameroon.

Table 1: List of Discoveries in 2010 - 2011. Source Derrick Petroleum Services

Map of West Africa - Source: USGS

Sierra Leone

The Mercury-1 well was announced as a discovery in Nov 2010 with approximately 135 net feet of oil pay in two Cretaceous-age fan systems. Anadarko operates block SL-07B-10 with a 65-percent working interest. Co-owners in the block include Repsol (25%) and Tullow (10%). This was the second well drilled on the block, the first being the Venus-B well on the Venus prospect drilled in August 2009 which encountered 14 m of hydrocarbons.

Source: Anadarko Corp

Ghana
The Dzata - 1 well was drilled in May 2009 in the Cape Three Points Deep Water Block by the Aban Abraham drillship and struck hydrocarbons over 94 m, including a 25-m net section of layered oil and gas pay. The well is temporarily plugged and abandoned for future appraisal activities. Vanco Energy (28.34%) is operator of the block and other partners are Lukoil (56.66%) and Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (15%). 

Source: Hess Corp

In March 2009, Kosmos announced that the Tweneboa-1 well drilled in the Deep Water Tano Licence discovered a light hydrocarbon accumulation with 21 m net pay in a single, good-quality sandstone reservoir similar in age to those found in the Jubilee Field. The Tweneboa-1 well was the seventh consecutive successful well Kosmos and its partners drilled on the West Cape Three Points and Deepwater Tano blocks, including three previous exploration wells that found oil on the West Cape Three Points Block since mid-2007. The Mahogany-1 exploration well discovered the Jubilee Field, which was announced in June 2007; the Odum-1 exploration well discovered the Odum Field, which was announced in February 2008; and the Mahogany-3 well discovered the Mahogany Deep Field which was announced in January 2009.

The Owo prospect in the Deep Water Tano Licence was drilled in early June 2010 and encountered a significant light oil accumulation . The Enyenra-2A appraisal well on this discovery intersected 32 m in 2 channels. Tullow operates the block, holding a 49.95% interest; Kosmos Energy holds 18%; Anadarko Petroleum holds 18%; Sabre Oil and Gas holds 4.05%; and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation holds a 10% carried interest.  

The Teak-1 exploration well in the West Cape Three Points Block was spud in Q4 2010 and discovered oil. On Mar 28, 2011, the Teak-2 exploration well encountered approximately 90 net feet of high-quality oil, condensate and natural gas pay in stacked Campanian- and Turonian-age reservoirs. Kosmos Energy (30.875%) is the operator of the Block. Other partners are Anadarko (30.875%) Tullow Oil (22.896%), KG Group (3.5%), Sabre Oil and Gas ( 1.854%) and Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) which has a 10% carried interest.


To find out which companies are drilling in Ghana in 2011, click here

Nigeria
On June 24, 2010, Total announced that the Agge-3B.T1 well in the OML 136 licence in water depths of 140 m discovered several gas bearing reservoirs totalling a gross thickness in excess of 150 m. A production test performed over the lower intervals yielded a production of 21 million cubic feet of gas per day on a 36/64’’ choke. Conoil Producing Limited (60%) is the operator of the licence and Total (40%) is partner.

Source: Total

On 12 July 2010, Sinopec announced that the UDELE-3 well in Block 137, in the Niger Delta, struck an oil layer of 45.9 m and test yields showed an oil flow of 3,365 barrels of oil and 28,300 cubic metres of gas a day. Sinopec is the owner and operator of the licence after acquiring the Swiss firm Addax Petroleum.

The Pegi-1 discovery well encountered 165 net feet (50.3 m) of rich gas condensate. The well was drilled in 315 ft (96 m water depth to a total depth of 11,407 feet (3,477 m) beneath the Awawa field. Analysis of recovered samples indicated an API gravity of ~41 degrees. ExxonMobil is the operator of the block with a 40 percent working interest, with the NNPC holding the remaining 60 percent. 

Cameroon
Bowleven, the West Africa focused oil and gas exploration group traded on AIM, announced that the Sapele-1 exploration well drilling in the Douala Basin, offshore Cameroon was drilled to a total depth (TD) of 4,733 m. Based on an analysis of a major steep change in pressure encountered and the interpretation of the seismic, Bowleven interpreted that the well may have encountered a significant hydrocarbon column in the Cretaceous. Further studies are ongoing. The well was drilled on the MHLP-5 block on Sept 14 2010. The MHLP-5, MLHP-6 and MLHP-7 blocks are located in the Etinde Permit Area and the blocks are operated by Bowleven (75%) and the partner is Vitol Group (25%).

Source: Bowleven

Gabon

Drilling in the Onal licence area yielded the Maroc Nord OMOC-N-1 discovery which identified a 111-metre column of oil. Pump tests established a flow of 1,700 bpd of oil (flow limited by the pump’s maximum capacity) with an API of 33.4. Maurel &  Prom (85%) operates the Onal production licence and is partnered by Tullow (7.5%) and AIC-Petrofi (7.5%).

The Southeast Etame No. 1 (“ETSEM-1”) exploration well completed drilling to a total depth of 9,045 feet (2,757 m) offshore Gabon and encountered approximately sixteen feet (five m) of oil saturated Gamba sandstone. Valco Energy (28.07%) operates the Etame Marin Permit in which this discovery was made with the other partners being Addax Petroleum (31.36%), Sasol Petroleum (27.75%), Sojitz Etame Limited (2.98%), PetroEnergy Resources Corp. (2.34%) and Tullow Oil Gabon SA (7.5%).

Angola
The Castanha-1 well was spud in Nov 2009 and struck 15 m of hydrocarbons in pre-salt sediments at a depth between 2,214 and 2,229 m. The Castanha-4 appraisal well encountered a gross hydrocarbon column of approx. 15 m in the Chela Formation. Production testing of the Castanha-2, Castanha-3 and Castanha-4 appraisal wells is planned to commence following which the consortium will take a decision as to its commerciality. Participating Interests in the Cabinda Onshore South Block in which the discovery was made are: Pluspetrol Angola Corporation (Operator) 45%; Force Petroleum de Angola 20%; Sonangol P&P 20%; Lacula Oil Company (ROC) 10%; Cuba Petroleo 5%.

Source: Roc Oil

The Nzanza-1 and Cinguvu-1 wells, both located in Block 15/06 some 350 km North-West of Luanda, were drilled in a water depth of 1,400 m and reached a total depth of respectively 3,008 m and 3,023 m in April 2010. Both wells encountered oil pay in sands of Lower Miocene age with good reservoir characteristics. During production tests, Nzanza-1 well produced an 18° API oil at rates above 1,600 barrels per day (b/d). Total, one of the partners in the block, indicates that a potential for future production wells in excess of 5,000 b/d per well, when associated to artificial lift, exists. At the Cinguvu-1 well, the production test, limited by surface facilities, reached a flow of 6,400 b/d of a 23° API oil. Eni (35%) is the operator of the block, and the other partners are Sonangol (20%), Sinopec Corp (15%), Total (15%), Falcon Oil SA (5%), Petrobras (5%) and Statoil (5%).

Source: ENI

Drilled in waters measuring 453 m deep, the Begonia-1 discovery well is located on the northeastern section of Angola's Block 17/06. This was the second discovery on the block; the first was the Gardenia-1 well.  Production tests of the discovery well, Begonia-1, flowed high-quality, 36-degree API oil at a rate of more than 6,000 barrels per day from the Miocene formation. Sonangol is the concessionaire of the block, and Total serves as the operator of Block 17/06 with 30 percent interest. Partners on the block include Sonangol Pesquisa e Producao with 30%, Sonangol Sinopec International Seventeen Limited with 27.5%, ACREP Bloco 17 with 5%, Falcon Oil Holding Angola with 5%, and PARTEX Oil and Gas with the remaining 2.5%.

On the same Block 17/06, the Canna-1 well, drilled in a water depth of 445 m, in the north-eastern area of the deep offshore block 17/06, discovered hydrocarbons in a reservoir of Miocene age and produced more than 5,000 barrels per day of high quality oil (33° API) during a production test.

An exploration well on the Cabaca South East prospect in Block 15/06 was drilled in 2010 and discovered oil in it. The Cabaca South East-1 well, located at a depth of 470 m, at a distance of 100 km from the coast, successfully reached its multi-target objective in the deepest levels of Miocene age, where oil bearing reservoirs, with a total of 450 m of gross thickness, was proven. During production tests, the well flowed high quality 34° API degrees oil at rates of about 7,000 barrels/day. The rates were constrained by the limited capacity of the surface facilities. Eni has a 35% working interest and is the Operator in Block 15/06, while Sonangol E&P is the Concessionaire. The other partners in the JV  are Sonangol Pesquisa e Produção (15%), SSI Fifteen Limited (20%), Total (15%), Falcon Oil Holding Angola SA (5%), Petrobras International Braspetro B.V. (5%) and Statoil Angola Block 15/06 Award AS (5%).

On the same block (15/06), the Mpungi-1 well, 120 km from the Angolan shoreline in 1,050 m of water, was drilled to a total depth of 2,300 m and encountered oil pay in both the Upper and the Middle Miocene sand reservoirs. During the production test of the main pool, the well flowed light oil at rates in excess of 6,000 barrels per day.

Norway determined to “crack the code”- Plans to drill about 60 wells on the Norwegian Continental Shelf in 2011 as compared to 40 in 2010!!!

Whilst the number of wells drilled on the NCS decreased last year to 40 wells compared to 65 exploration wells in 2009, 2011 is set to match the record year of 2009. About 60 wells have been scheduled so far.

• Only one exploration well was drilled in the Barents sea in 2011.
• The CEO of state-run producer Statoil , Helge Lund, told Bloomberg that the oil industry has been unable to 'crack the code' of the Barents Sea. However, a company spokesperson said earlier in the week that Statoil 'still believes' in the Barents Sea, underscoring its importance to the plans of Norway's upstream players.
• About 32 wildcat wells were completed by the end of 2010, out of which 16 wells discovered hydrocarbons in them.

• So far in 2011, six wells have been drilled offshore Norway: two each in the North, Barents and Norwegian seas. All six have failed to yield hydrocarbons. This is the largest number of dusters to start a calendar year in Norway's drilling history since 1966, according to Norwegian government data.
• Norway estimates the Norwegian Sea holds 455 billion cubic meters in undiscovered gas and the Barents Sea 520 billion cubic meters. Total undiscovered gas resources may be 1.26 trillion cubic meters, the directorate said in January, down from an estimate of 1.82 trillion cubic meters last year. The country had proven gas reserves of 2 trillion cubic meters in 2009.
• The lack of discoveries is challenging targets to maintain production offshore Norway and imperiling the development of a second gas hub in the Norwegian Sea.
• Statoil missed production targets last year and has said a goal of keeping output in Norway at current levels until 2020 is “ambitious.”
• Producers operating off Norway are investing a record amount in exploration and production this year to make bigger discoveries and prolong output from existing fields.
• Investments are estimated to climb 13 percent to 141.1 billion kroner ($25 billion) driven by an 11 percent increase in spending on exploration.

Planned exploration wells on NCS 2011 sorted by operating company:

    

Companies which have not planned any wells as operators in 2011:

BP, Chevron, Dana Petroleum, Lotos, VNG, North Energy, Front Exploration, Spring Energy, Hess, Bridge Energy, Talisman Energy, Repsol, Shell and ExxonMobil.

For further information on Derrick Petroleum Exploration Database, please visit:
http://www.derrickpetroleum.com/explorationdatabaase.html