Madagascar Opens Fresh Offshore Licensing Round
Island nation Madagascar puts 44 blocks in the Morondava Basin up for grabs, detailing exploration and exploitation periods under production sharing contracts.In the framework of the development of Madagascar's oil and gas potential, the Malagasy State through OMNIS continues to promote projects that attract new private investment in the short, medium and long term.The state regulator OMNIS, together with TGS and BGP, has worked to create an attractive environment for offshore exploration.Exploration in Madagascar began in the early 1900s with the discovery of hydrocarbon-rich sedimentary basins in the west…
No Bidders for Tie-up in Ayin-Batsil Offshore Oil Field
There were no bidders in an auction to partner with Mexican national oil company Pemex on its offshore Ayin-Batsil project, the industry regulator said on Wednesday, in a setback for the opening of the country's energy sector to private capital. Industry analysts had seen Ayin-Batsil as the most attractive of the three areas on the block on Wednesday. The results of the other two blocks are due to be announced later. The auction is only the second offering of a joint venture between Pemex and equity partners…
Statoil Aims to More than Triple Brazil Output
Norwegian oil and gas firm Statoil aims to more than triple its production in Brazil and will seek to become operator for the entire Carcara discovery, among the world's biggest in recent years, the firm's country manager said. Statoil has invested more than $10 billion in Brazil, making it the country's largest foreign offshore operator, and the Peregrino heavy oil field 85 kilometres off the coast of Rio de Janeiro is the biggest it operates outside Norway. With Peregrino producing 80,000-90,000 barrels of oil equivalents per day…
Statoil: Production Drilling Starts on Mariner
Production drilling has started on the Statoil operated Mariner field in the UK North Sea. Up to five wells will be drilled before the Mariner A platform hook up and commissioning activity starts next summer. First oil is expected to be produced from Mariner in 2018. “Predrilling enables production to reach plateau levels more quickly after the start of operations on Mariner A. The Noble Lloyd Noble, the largest jack-up rig in the world, is currently positioned over the Mariner jacket which was installed in 2015. The first production wells will be drilled through a well deck on the jacket.
Siccar Point Announces First N. Sea Oil Deal
Venture acquires 8.9 pct stake in Mariner Field; deal highlights growing private equity role in region. Private equity-backed oil and gas venture Siccar Point Energy announced its first North Sea investment on Tuesday and said it planned to do more deals over the next year as cash-rich firms step up activity after a two-year rout in the sector. Siccar Point, headed by Jonathan Roger, a former Centrica executive, and backed by private equity firm Blue Water Energy and Blackstone, acquired a 8.9 percent stake in the UK North Sea Mariner field from JX Nippon.
Kraken Oil Project Gets Custom Subsea Spreaders
Heavy lifting equipment and engineering specialist Modulift announced it has manufactured two custom subsea spreader beams for the subsea construction company currently conducting a large-scale engineering, procurement, installation and construction contract for EnQuest’s Kraken development, one of the largest subsea heavy-oil field projects under development in the U.K. sector of the North Sea. The below-the-hook equipment manufacturer delivered the 303t capacity, 6.8m span spreaders to its customer on site, where the scope of work includes template and manifold installation at three drill centers.
Statoil Contracts for Asco
Statoil (U.K.) Limited has on behalf of the Mariner co-venturers awarded the contracts for supply base and warehousing services for the Mariner field to Asco UK Limited. Asco is an international oilfield support services company, headquartered in Aberdeen. The supply base and warehousing facility for Mariner will be operated by Asco from Peterhead, north of Aberdeen. The scopes awarded encompass the provision of supply base services, including personnel, local transportation, marine gas oil, quayside services and a nearby warehousing facility.
Eni Announces Production from Junín-5 Giant Heavy Oil Field in Venezuela
PetroJunín, joint venture formed by PDVSA (60%) and Eni (40%), has started production from the Junín-5 giant heavy oil field, located in the Faja del Orinoco, the area with the largest untapped hydrocarbon reserves in the world. The block is located 550 kilometers southeast of Caracas and covers an area of approximately 425 square kilometers. The Junín-5 block, currently under development, holds 35 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) of certified oil in place and is jointly operated by two joint ventures…
