Samson O&G Increases Acreage in Hawk Springs Area

- Samson O&G Increases Acreage in Hawk Springs Area

Monday, August 29, 2011
Samson O&G Ltd.

Samson O&G has been awarded, on a conditional basis, approximately 956 net acres of leasehold offered by competitive tender from the University of Wyoming. This land is part of the University's agricultural research facility. Because the acreage is within Samson's propriety 3-D seismic coverage, Samson had a significant advantage by being knowledgeable about the rock qualities in the area. Samson has also been successful in acquiring additional acreage in the State of Wyoming's lease sales as well as leasing acreage from fee owners. Accordingly, Samson has now increased its holding to 17,489 net acres in the Hawk Springs area. This holding assumes that Samson's farminee exercises its full right to earn a 25% interest within the farmin area.

Defender US33 #2-29H, Goshen County, Wyoming, Samson 37.5% working interest (carried)

Samson further advises that the Defender US33 #2-29H well has reached the Niobrara core point at a depth of 6,937 feet and is currently cutting 120 feet of core from the Niobrara 'A' and 'B' intervals.

This vertical pilot hole will then be drilled to an approximate total depth of 7,450 feet, at which point the hole will be logged, with both the core data and the log data used to determine the final horizontal azimuth. The vertical pilot hole will be plugged back to a kick-off point above the Niobrara. From the kick-off point, the borehole angle will be built until it is horizontal and the bit is positioned within the Niobrara "B". Then 7-inch intermediate casing will be set through the curve and the lateral will thereafter be drilled for a distance of approximately 4,300 feet within the Niobrara "B". The well will be completed using a plug and perforation process in 15-stages that is expected to involve the placement of approximately 3,000,000 pounds of proppant into the Niobrara Formation. The Defender US33 #2-29H is the first Niobrara appraisal well in Samson's Hawk Springs project.

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EDS Welcomes New Area Manager for Marcellus Ops

- EDS Welcomes New Area Manager for Marcellus Ops

Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Environmental Drilling Solutions LLC

Environmental Drilling Solutions, (EDS), a leader in solids control, cuttings processing and zero discharge services, has named Richard Guillory Area Manager for Marcellus Shale operations.

Guillory will manage day-to-day field operations locally and be based out of the company's local office in Bradford County, Pa.

Guillory most recently served as Environmental Solutions Projects Manager with M-I SWACO where he developed new systems to manage growing numbers of projects in multiple locations.

"Richard has proven himself as an effective project manager with the ability to create more efficient operations," said Jake Garber, EDS Regional Manager. "His assignment to the Marcellus Shale region is an essential step toward meeting our growing demand in the area."

Guillory received a master of business administration in management and a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, both from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

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Philippines May Soon Own Vast Gas-Rich Area

- Philippines May Soon Own Vast Gas-Rich Area

Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
by Cathy Yamsuan, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Manila /

The Philippines will gain 13 million hectares in additional territory, an area slightly smaller than Luzon, should the United Nations approve next year the government's claim on a region off the coast of Isabela and Aurora, Environment Secretary Ramon Jesus Paje said.

Paje said the undersea region, called Benham Rise, could turn the Philippines into a natural gas exporter because of the area's huge methane deposits.

Studies conducted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for the past five years indicate large deposits of methane in solid form, Paje said after a Senate budget hearing.

The government is only awaiting a formal declaration from the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea (Unclos) that Benham Rise is on the country's continental shelf and therefore part of its territory, Paje said.

Legal basis

Once the Unclos establishes that Benham Rise is part of the Philippines, "we would have legal basis to enter into exploration agreements with private companies to explore...(the area's) resources," said Sen. Franklin Drilon, chair of the chamber's finance committee.

Drilon said a favorable Unclos declaration would mean "increasing our territory from present 30 million hectares to possibly 43 million" with the inclusion of Benham Rise.

Discussion over Benham Rise generated excitement especially after Paje said that Philippine representatives were just awaiting one more meeting "to answer questions" before a special Unclos committee.

Only claim

Paje said there was no reason for the Unclos committee not to issue a decision favorable to the country "since we are the only claimant, unlike in the western side (where the Spratly Islands are)."

"We have submitted a claim under (Unclos) sometime in late 2008. We got a reply from the UN lately (asking us) to answer some questions. They intend to pass a resolution sometime in mid-2012 to approve our claim (that it is) part of the Philippine continental shelf," Paje told reporters after the hearing.

Records showed that the Philippines officially submitted a claim with the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in New York on April 8, 2009.

Davide submission

Hilario Davide, then Philippine ambassador to the United Nations, filed the country's partial submission with the commission.

The United Nations says the continental shelf is "the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas that extend beyond its territorial sea" up to 370 km (200 nautical miles) from the archipelagic baseline. An extended continental shelf goes farther than 370 km.

The Philippines claims that Benham Rise is an extension of its continental shelf.

Paje said Benham Rise was within the country's 370-km exclusive economic zone.

American geologist

The environment secretary said an American geologist surnamed Benham discovered the area that was between 40 and 2,000 meters below the waterline in 1933.

"But we are able to define categorically that it is attached to our continental shelf only recently. We have proven (to) Unclos that it is attached. So now the UN is considering it for decision sometime in 2012," Paje said.

He said gas deposits in the area would enable the country to achieve energy sufficiency.

"Benham Rise is very relevant because of its gas deposits (which has been) confirmed particularly by (the) National Mapping Resource Information Agency. It has given us the data that (the area) contains solid methane. We have not explored it but we have found nodules of methane in the surface and this is very important to us," he said.

Kalayaan, Scarborough

The Kalayaan Island Group, which is part of the disputed Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal, both located in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) and claimed by the Philippines, are also believed to contain oil and natural gas.

Paje said there was the possibility that the country could export gas in the future.

The secretary added that there would be a demand for gas deposits in Benham Rise "because it's much cleaner than (other) fossil fuels."

The DENR formally submitted its proposed P16.99-billion (US$40 million) budget for 2012 to the Senate finance committee.

Copyright (c) 2011, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Manila / Asia News Network

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Petrobras Confirms Continuity of Accumulation in Guara Area

- Petrobras Confirms Continuity of Accumulation in Guara Area

Monday, August 01, 2011
Petrobras

Petrobras has completed drilling of the second extension well in Guará area, 3-SPS-82A (3-BRSA-923A-SPS), located in the Santos Basin pre-salt.

Informally known as Guará Sul (South Guará), the well was drilled 5.7 km south of wildcat discovery well (1-SPS-55). In a water depth of 2,156 m, Guará Sul is located 315 km off the coast of the state of São Paulo. Including the wildcat well, this is the third well in the Guará area.

Preliminary analyses confirm satisfactory conditions of the reservoir and its lateral continuity. The monitoring of pressures compared to those from the discovery well, currently undergoing Extended Well Test (EWT), verified the hydraulic communication of the reservoir between both wells. This scenario indicates a good perspective of production for this accumulation.

Cable test in the pre-salt reservoirs demonstrated the presence of light oil around 27º API. Formation tests still have to be executed to assess the reservoir's productivity.

Petrobras is the operator of the consortium for the exploration of block BM-S-09 (45%), in partnership with the BG Group (30%) and Repsol Sinopec Brasil (25%). The consortium gives continuity to the activities foreseen in the Guará Evaluation Plan.

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Area Restores Many of Its Lost Jobs

- Area Restores Many of Its Lost Jobs

Monday, July 25, 2011
Houston Chronicle
by Ronnie Crocker

Powered by gains in oil and natural gas and manufacturing and a recent uptick in heavy construction, the Houston metro area has regained nearly 70 percent of the private-sector jobs it lost during the Great Recession, a local analyst says.

"To put it bluntly, that's just phenomenal," said Patrick Jankowski, vice president of research at the Greater Houston Partnership.

Acknowledging lingering concerns in the real estate and government sectors, Jankowski nonetheless was encouraged by the economy's overall resilience. He predicted the strong showing in private industry "will eventually start to influence the public sector."

Others also took heart in the monthly employment figures released Friday by the Texas Workforce Commission.

The report shows unemployment in the Houston region grew to 9 percent in June, up from 8.2 percent a month earlier. Statewide, unemployment rose to 8.2 percent, from 8 percent the previous month. The nation's unemployment rate for the month was a percentage point higher at 9.2 percent.

Part of this can be attributed to the annual influx of teachers and college and high school students into the workforce; the unemployment rate has gone up five of the last six Junes. But Jankowski said that, because of the way the rate is calculated, this particular increase might be yet another signal of an improving economy.

The rate is based on a survey, and only respondents actively seeking work are counted as unemployed. Jankowski said it's likely that some people who had given up during the recession have seen the continued positive jobs reports and rejoined the search for work.

He noted that the Houston region added 10,200 jobs in June, while adding 20,800 people to the workforce.

Statewide, there were 32,000 new nonfarm jobs in June.

In announcing the results, Workforce Commissioner Ronny Congleton, who represents labor on the three-member panel, noted that the state has added 117,600 jobs since January.

"While no state is immune from tough economic times, we're still putting many Texans back to work," Congleton said in a statement.

Jankowski, who has tracked the local employment scene since 1990, said the private sector in the Houston region shed 165,400 jobs by the time the recession bottomed out in January 2010. Since then, he said, the region has added 113,500 private jobs, or 68.6 percent of the number lost.

He cited several positive signs in the Workforce Commission statistics, which are based on local hiring over the past 12 months:

The oil and gas industry added 6,600 jobs, with a ripple of economic benefits that include a boost in the production of durable goods such as oil field equipment and heavy machinery.

Manufacturing added 8,900 jobs. Workers who were not laid off during the recession are getting more overtime pay, as their average work weeks have increased to 50 hours, up from 42 hours at the beginning of the recession.

From auto dealers to clothing stores, retail has added 5,400 jobs, although these increases have slowed during the past couple of months.

Restaurants and bars have added 8,400 jobs, attributable in part to population growth and increased consumer optimism.

There has even been an uptick in heavy construction. Jankowski said the addition of 3,400 jobs in this area is important because of the variety of goods and services associated with large projects such as building refineries and chemical plants.

Jobs tied to real estate continue to lag, the analyst said, along with home sales and commercial leasing.

Also under strain is the government sector. The latest figures show some declines, but Jankowski said he suspects the overall numbers will be revised downward as more data become available.

And while the decline in public-education jobs, at both the local school district and university levels, was about the same as it was last June, a typical seasonal drop-off as school years end, it won't be clear until the fall how many of those job losses are permanent, the result of layoffs brought on by budget cuts.

Copyright (c) 2011, Houston Chronicle

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AWE Updates 2P Reserves at Tui Area Oil Fields

- AWE Updates 2P Reserves at Tui Area Oil Fields

Monday, July 25, 2011
New Zealand O&G Ltd.

AWE, as Operator of the Tui Joint Venture, has advised that preliminary work completed on the Tui Area Oil Fields indicates that the gross initial developed 2P reserves recoverable from the existing four well development of the fields will be reduced from the previously reported 50.5 million barrels to between 40 and 42 million barrels. This would leave gross remaining developed 2P reserves as at June 30, 2011 of between 9 and 11 million barrels and would represent a reduction of between 1.1 to 1.3 million barrels net to NZOG. An independent review of the reserves estimate is being undertaken by RPS Energy Pty Ltd (RPS). The RPS review is anticipated by AWE to be completed in early August 2011. A finalized 2P reserves estimate will be advised after the Joint Venture and RPS review has been completed.

AWE's evaluation has also identified possible additional volumes of oil not accessed by the current production wells in the Tui fields. To recover this oil additional wells or side tracks of existing wells will be required. Further work is being progressed that may mature these opportunities into a firm project that would add back a portion of the reserves reduction.

The revised 2P reserves estimate indicates an economic cut‐off for production in the 2019 to 2020 period based on operating costs for the FPSO Umuroa, the oil price forecast at that time, and no future infill drilling or exploration drilling success.

Concurrently, reprocessing and reinterpretation of the Tui 3D seismic undertaken by AWE has identified exploration prospects adjacent to the Tui fields which are under ongoing evaluation.

Participating interests in the Tui Joint Venture are:

• AWE Limited (Operator) 42.5%
• Mitsui E&P Australia Pty Limited 35.0%
• Stewart Petroleum Co Limited (NZOG) 12.5%
• WM Petroleum Limited (PPP) 10.0%

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Fracking Foes Resort to Rest Area Prank Signs

- Fracking Foes Resort to Rest Area Prank Signs

Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
by Don Hopey

The professionally printed sign bearing the banner message "SAFE TO DRINK" and affixed to a drinking fountain in the Pennsylvania Turnpike's Midway Service Plaza looked official at first glance, even if it seemed to state the obvious.

But something didn't look quite right to Tonya Markiewicz, who stopped in for a drink June 8 while on a trip to Philadelphia and New York City, and it had nothing to do with the stream of cold water arching from the fountain.

The message of the sign, which bore what purported to be a Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection logo in the upper left hand corner and has since been discovered in several other turnpike service plazas, was coyly equivocal. It read: "This water is most likely safe. If you have any concerns about contamination due to hydraulic fracturing, expose water to flame."

That procedure -- unsafe at best and potentially fatal at worst if the water contained ignitable concentrations of methane -- was depicted in a graphic that shows a hand holding a lit match under a water faucet.

That raised a big red flag for Ms. Markiewicz.

"I didn't want to try to drink the water after seeing that sign," said Ms. Markiewicz, a Braddock resident, who took a photograph of it. "After reading closely it occurred to me it was posted as part of an activist project, but it was so well done. It gets right at you when you're about to consume the water."

At the bottom of the sign, posted by an as yet unknown activist prankster, was a list of symptoms from drinking contaminated water, including "headaches, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, hair loss, itchy skin and kidney failure," and a DEP phone number to call for more information.

Kevin Sunday, a DEP spokesman, confirmed that the not-so-subtly subversive sign was not posted by the department. He noted that its appearance at the Midway Service Plaza near Harrisburg roughly coincided with the June 7 rally in Harrisburg by hundreds of people protesting Marcellus Shale gas well drilling and development.

"That's not from DEP," Mr. Sunday said last week, noting that the "E" in the DEP logo on the sign was different from the DEP's real logo.

Bill Capone, a Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission spokesman, said last week that after inquiries by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the bogus DEP signs were found on water fountains in "most of the service plazas west of Harrisburg." He said they were probably up on the drinking fountains for almost two weeks and viewed by hundreds of turnpike travelers and service plaza attendants who didn't raise questions about its message, which he termed, "odd, curious and somewhat alarming."

"We found them in Somerset and New Stanton and others, and we are having them removed," he said.

He said not only do the signs appear official but the contact number for more information is a working DEP phone line that belonged to Katy Gresh, the department's spokeswoman in its Southwest District office in Pittsburgh before her promotion to head the DEP's Harrisburg media office in March.

The signs' water contamination test, using a lighted flame, is a reference to problems caused by faulty well casing and drilling operations at Marcellus Shale gas wells in Dimock, Susquehanna County, that allowed high concentrations of methane gas from shallower formations to contaminate well water at several homes.

Also, a homeowner in Colorado was able to ignite his tap water, a dramatically explosive scene shown in the 2010 Oscar-nominated documentary film "Gasland" by Josh Fox, who, coincidentally, spoke at the anti-drilling rally.

Myron Arnowitt, state director for Clean Water Action, one of the environmental organizations that helped organize the rally, said last week that he hadn't seen the prank signs and doesn't endorse them, but thought them "an amusing way to raise some public awareness."

"Of course it's not a good idea to give the public misleading information on water quality and we would want any signs to be clearly factual," he said. "And as far as I know, any of the activists I've been in touch with, no one is taking credit for it."

Copyright (c) 2011, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

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Petrobras Commences EWT Test at Aruana Area

- Petrobras Commences EWT Test at Aruana Area

Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Petrobras

Petrobras has started producing oil in the Aruanã area, in the post-salt layer of the southern area of Campos Basin, through well 1-RJS-661, located in Block C-M-401. The FPSO Cidade de Rio das Ostras, which operates in the area, will produce up to 12 thousand barrels of oil per day, limited to the capacity of equipment used.

The test of well 1-RJS-661 belongs to the Discovery Assessment Plan (PAD), approved by Petroleum Agency (ANP) for the subsequent development of the area. The exploratory block C-M-401 is located between Pampo and Espardarte fields, in water depths ranging from 350 to 1,500 meters. The formation tests, which were carried out after the drilling of well 1-RJS-661, in March, 2009, evidenced the occurrence of 27 °API oil and recoverable volumes of approximately 280 million barrels of oil.

The EWT of Aruanã will be accomplished during approximately six months. The findings of the tests will aid the studies in order to better characterize the reservoir-rock, fluids and productive potential of oil accumulations in the block.

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Aux Sable Affiliate Adds Key Assets in Bakken Area

- Aux Sable Affiliate Adds Key Assets in Bakken Area

Friday, June 03, 2011
Aux Sable Liquid Products L.P.

Aux Sable Liquid Products Enbridge, Veresen and Williams Partners announced that Sable, an affiliate of Aux Sable, has executed an agreement with a wholly owned subsidiary of EOG to purchase and operate the Stanley Condensate Recovery Plant and the Prairie Rose Pipeline. The Prairie Rose Pipeline connects the Stanley Plant to the Alliance Pipeline, which delivers high energy dense phase gas to Aux Sable's Channahon, Illinois Plant for processing. The purchase agreement calls for the US $185 million transaction to close in July 2011.

The Stanley Plant commenced operation in February 2010 and will have a capacity of 80 MMcf per day when a current expansion is completed in June 2011. The plant removes the heavier hydrocarbon compounds while leaving the majority of the natural gas liquids in the rich gas delivered into the Prairie Rose Pipeline.

Bakken Shale

The 12-inch diameter, 83-mile Prairie Rose Pipeline also commenced operation in February 2010 and gathers gas from the Stanley Plant and other sources for delivery into the Alliance Pipeline system at Bantry, North Dakota. The pipeline has an estimated capacity of 110 MMcf per day and can be easily expanded to meet additional demand.

"This acquisition represents a significant step forward in the pursuit of our strategic growth objectives in the Bakken area, as it provides key infrastructure assets that will lead to increased deliveries of liquids-rich natural gas to our Channahon facilities," said W.J. (Bill) McAdam, President and Chief Executive Officer of Aux Sable. "With this acquisition, Aux Sable will be able to directly engage in and expand its role as a provider of value-added gathering and processing of natural gas and natural gas liquids from the Bakken play."

"As the largest crude oil producer in the North Dakota Bakken, EOG constructed these facilities when there was little infrastructure in the basin. We believe the time is right to sell these assets to an organization that specializes in gathering and processing, allowing us to focus on our core exploration and production activities in the region. We are pleased that Aux Sable recognized the value of both the Stanley Plant and the Prairie Rose Pipeline and are confident that under their management these facilities will benefit all operators in this part of North Dakota," said Ray L. Ingle, President of EOG's Pecan Pipeline (North Dakota), Inc. subsidiary.

Each of Aux Sable and Sable NGL is owned by Enbridge Inc. (42.7% equity interest), Veresen Inc. (42.7% equity interest) and Williams Partners (14.6% equity interest). Enbridge Inc. and Veresen Inc. each own a 50% interest in the Alliance Pipeline.

"We are pleased with this investment in that it bolsters our already strong position in the Bakken, one of the most prolific energy plays in North America," said Al Monaco, President, Gas Pipelines, Green Energy and International, Enbridge Inc. "The Pecan natural gas infrastructure increases the accessibility of the Alliance gas pipeline to Bakken-area producers and draws additional liquids-rich gas to the Aux Sable NGL fractionation plant near Chicago. The investment complements Enbridge's existing Bakken liquids pipeline systems in North Dakota and Saskatchewan. We look forward to working with producers to maximize the value of their resources in this region."

"This transaction demonstrates Veresen's commitment to execute on our strategic plans by expanding our services and presence in liquids-rich resource plays," said Stephen White, President and CEO of Veresen Inc. "The Pecan assets allow us to leverage our existing infrastructure investments, including Aux Sable and Alliance, and enhance our capacity to provide high-value services both to producers and end users."

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Floodwaters Shut Down 30 Oil Wells in Williston Area

- Floodwaters Shut Down 30 Oil Wells in Williston Area

Friday, May 27, 2011
The Bismarck Tribune, Bismarck, North Dakota
by Lauren Donovan, The Bismarck Tribune, N.D.

About 30 oil wells were shut off ahead of the rising water on the Missouri River west of Williston and a few of those wells are now under water.

John Axtman, who heads the Oil and Gas Division's Williston office, said he started alerting well operators Monday morning to prepare for high water and found that several of them were on top of the situation.

The Missouri River was expected to crest somewhere around 27.5 feet late Wednesday, slightly lower than anticipated.

However, the high water put some wells under water, some partially under water and some are now surrounded by water, Axtman said.

He said well operators shut down the wells, removed any chemicals and motors from the site and drained oil from tank batteries, refilling them with fluid so they'd be too heavy to become buoyant.

Axtman said the wells were primarily older wells, but even at a 50-barrel per day, would cost the well owner a fair amount of money in lost production.

Randy Samuelson, a production manager for Brigham Oil and Gas, said his company shut down one well that's now under water and a couple more are a concern.

"I hope the well restarts easily and that we don't have to rebuild the whole location," Samuelson said.

Samuelson said rebuilding a pad and well site will cost upward of $200,000.

Axtman said damage to the electrical systems will be one of the major repair issues at the flooded wells

While some wells aren't flooded, owners shut them down anyway because roads leading to them are under water and they can't get in to haul out produced oil and waste water, Axtman said.

Water has backflowed across a vast low-lying area south and west of Williston, which is near the confluence of the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers.

Williams County Emergency Manager Mike Hallesy said the revised lowered crest was good news.

"When you're pushing the upper limits, inches seem like miles," he said. "High water pushed all the systems early this week."

He said much of the flooded land behind Williston is either owned by the U.S Army Corps of Engineers, as part of the Garrison Dam project, or managed as a wildlife refuge.

Further back in Trenton, farmers were having a difficult time getting any crops planted with rain and now flooding in the lowlands.

"I'm going to say that river is a couple of miles across," Hallesy said.

Copyright (c) 2011, The Bismarck Tribune, N.D.

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Global Energy Plans Seismic Acquisition at Bocachico Area

- Global Energy Plans Seismic Acquisition at Bocachico Area

Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Global Energy Development plc

Global Energy Development announced that, in addition to the previously announced seismic plan for its Bolivar Association Contract area, it is now also planning the acquisition of 200 square kilometers of new 3D seismic over the Company's Bocachico Association Contract area.

As with the seismic plan for its Bolivar Contract area, the Company has engaged Third Coast Enterprises, Inc. to aid in the design of an approximately 200 square kilometer 3D survey. The reservoirs of the Torcaz field in this block are in a stratigraphically complex group of formations. A high resolution 3D survey is key to delineating the extent of individual reservoirs, thus ensuring proper well placement. The current model for the field indicates that higher gravity crude exists on the flanks of the field, and the 3D survey will ensure proper mapping of these reservoirs where the Company has little data currently. The 3D survey will also delineate areas of improved reservoir continuity which will aid in the design and implementation of the overall field development plan including future secondary recovery projects.

The Company is still in the design phase of its 3D seismic survey for its Bolivar Contract area and, with the addition of the 3D seismic plans for its Bocachico Contract area, expects to complete the design phase during the second quarter 2011.

Steve Voss, the Company's Managing Director, indicated "By moving forward with these new 3D programs in both Bolivar's and Bocachio's reserve rich contract areas, we can gain much higher resolution data to identify fracture intersections in the various productive reservoirs of Bolivar and characterize areas of improved sand quality in the main Mugrossa-Bocachico reservoir. Achieving these objectives will ensure proper placement of lateral wellbores in the Bolivar fractured reservoirs and high grade the early development drilling locations in the Torcaz/Bocachico field."

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Petrobras Commences EWT at Brava Area

Petrobras Commences EWT at Brava Area

Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Petrobras

Petrobras has started the Extended Well Test (EWT) of the Brava area, in the Campos Basin pre-salt, in the Production Concession area of Marlin field, located 170 km from the city of Macaé, RJ.

The EWT which is expected to last two years and have a daily production of 6,000 barrels of oil per day is being done by well 6-MRL-199-RJS, interconnected to platform P-27, which was already under production at Marlin field. This is the third reservoir to produce oil in the Campos Basin pre-salt. The first reservoir was in the Jubarte field in September of 2008; subsequently, in July of 2010, Petrobras started to produce in a reservoir in the Baleia Franca field's pre-salt.

The Brava EWT will enable Petrobras to obtain more information about the reservoir's characteristics, which will assist in the preparation of the definitive production development project. This data will also be important to study the characteristics of new wells in the Marlim and Voador fields.

Statoil Strikes Oil Offshore Brazil

Statoil Strikes Oil Offshore Brazil

Thursday, April 14, 2011
Statoil

A new oil find has been made by Statoil immediately adjacent the Peregrino field in the Campos Basin offshore Brazil.

An exploration well drilled in the Peregrino South structure a few kilometers south of Peregrino has encountered oil in sandstones of the Carapebus geological formation.

A significant gross oil column of 130 meters has been proven in the well and further work will be performed to confirm the volumes.

The drilling operation is still ongoing to penetrate deeper reservoir units and explore additional upside potential below the main reservoir unit.
Significant upside

"The results confirm the significant potential in the Peregrino area and underline the beliefs we have had in the upside,” said Tim Dodson, executive vice president for Exploration in Statoil.

"The well verifies the upside potential and will together with the Peregrino Southwest discovery from 2007 play an important role in further development of the Peregrino area."

"The results will indeed be implemented into our plans for further development of the field," said Kjetil Hove, head of Statoil's Brazil activities and vice president in the company's Development and Production International business area.

Following the completion of the Peregrino South well, one additional appraisal well in the Peregrino Southwest structure will be drilled to conclude the overall size of the new development.
Peregrino start-up

Oil production from the Peregrino field started last week and will gradually ramp up to a plateau of 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, making Statoil an important long-term operator and partner in Brazil's growing oil and gas industry.

The initial development of the field is estimated to contain 300 to 600 recoverable million barrels of oil equivalents, and the new discovery will add additional volumes going forward.

Drilling of the well is being carried out by the Blackford Dolphin rig at a water depth of 120 meters.

Operated by Statoil, the Peregrino field is 85 kilometers off the Brazilian coast from Rio de Janeiro. In May 2010 Statoil sold a 40% stake of the Peregrino field to the Sinochem Group. Statoil holds 60% ownership and the operatorship of the field and Sinochem the remaining 40%. The closing of the transaction is pending governmental approvals.

Antrim Inks Rig, Services Contract for Greater Fyne Area

Antrim Inks Rig, Services Contract for Greater Fyne Area

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Antrim Energy Inc.

Antrim has signed a Letter of Award with AGR Peak Well Management Limited ("AGR") to provide well project management and drilling services, including the provision of the semi-submersible drilling rig, WilPhoenix, for the drilling of two wells within the Greater Fyne Area, in the UK Central North Sea. The estimated duration for the drilling of the two wells is 50 days, not including testing. A site survey of both locations will be initiated in the next three weeks. Both wells are scheduled to be drilled mid year 2011.

The first well will target the Jurassic Fulmar Formation at approximately 10,400 ft true vertical depth (TVD) on the West Teal Prospect, Block 21/24b (Antrim 100%). The West Teal Prospect has a light oil target (37 degrees API) delineated by 3-D seismic and a previous discovery well drilled in 1991. The original discovery well encountered a gross oil column up to 140 ft thick in the Fulmar Formation but was abandoned after mechanical problems while conducting a cased hole test. The West Teal Prospect is structurally up dip and approximately 4 km west of the Teal Field, which has produced approximately 55 million barrels of oil to date.

The second well is expected to target the Eocene Tay Formation at a depth of approximately 6,000 ft on the Carra Prospect, Block 21/28b (Antrim 100%). The Carra Prospect is a medium gravity target (25 degrees API) delineated by 3-D seismic, on trend and 4 km from the West Guillemot Field. If successful, a discovery on either of these prospects would add significant resources to the scheduled development of the Fyne Field, located 3 km to the northwest of Carra.

Antrim intends to use the proceeds from its recent equity issue to fund the drilling program but will also invite participation from industry partners.