Melrose Commences Drilling at Bulgaria Block

- Melrose Commences Drilling at Bulgaria Block

Thursday, July 21, 2011
Melrose Resources plc

Melrose provided an update on its exploration activities.

Highlights 

• the Company is pursuing a number of high potential exploration initiatives and plans to allocate approximately 40 percent of its capital expenditure to drilling and seismic work programs over the next three years.
• the exploration program includes projects in proven hydrocarbon basins offshore Bulgaria and Romania, as well as new frontier exploration plays in northern and southern Egypt, Turkey and offshore France.
• the Company expects to complete three exploration wells in the second half of 2011, in Turkey (on its South Mardin acreage), Bulgaria (on the Galata block) and Egypt (on the South East Mansoura concession).
• the 2011 drilling program is targeting net unrisked prospective resources of 43 MMbbl of oil and 59 Bcf of gas and two of the wells are potentially new exploration play openers with significant follow-on opportunities.
• seismic surveys acquired in early 2011 on the Mesaha concession in southern Egypt and the Rhône Maritime block offshore France will help define the longer term exploration potential in these untested frontier areas.
• seismic data will be acquired later in the year offshore Bulgaria, where the Company hopes to extend the existing proven gas play to the north of the Galata-Kaliakra field trend.

Exploration Update

Bulgaria

In Bulgaria, the Company has received formal Government notification that the Galata block exploration permit has been extended to 4 February 2013 with a work program commitment including 3D seismic acquisition and one firm well.

Following receipt of the notification, the Kaliakra East exploration well was spudded on July 20 in the Galata block. The well is targeting a structure containing net prospective resources of 59 Bcf (P50 basis) with a chance of success of 34 percent and should take approximately one month to complete.

The Company is also moving forward with its plans to acquire 500 square kilometers of 3D seismic data within the Galata block to the north of the Galata-Kaliakra field trend. This area of the concession is thought to be on the gas migration path and contains a number of leads identified on the existing 2D seismic data. The 3D acquisition contract has been tendered and the survey is expected to commence in September this year.

Turkey

Drilling operations continue on the South West Kanun well on the Company's South Mardin acreage in southern Turkey. This well has dual objectives in the Cretaceous and Ordovician formations and is targeting net prospective resources of 37 MMbbl of oil with an average chance of success of 19 percent. Intermediate casing has been set at 3,814 feet and the well is currently drilling ahead at a depth of 5,910 feet. The well has experienced some minor operational delays associated with equipment procurement and is expected to complete in mid to late August.

Egypt

The processing and interpretation of the 3D seismic data recently acquired over the Cretaceous oil play in the South East Mansoura concession has been completed. The interpretation has confirmed the presence of multiple prospects and leads with combined unrisked prospective resources of 54 MMbbl. One prospect, called Al Hajarisah, has been selected for drilling in the fourth quarter 2011 and this has prospective resources of 6 MMbbl (working interest basis) and a chance of success of 21 percent.

On the Mesaha frontier exploration concession, the 2011 2D seismic survey has been completed with a total of 1844 kilometers of data acquired. The quality of the new seismic data is superior to the 2010 2D survey and has significantly improved the definition of the sedimentary basin. Based on this encouragement, the scope of the 2011 survey was expanded as compared to the original plan (which was to acquire 700 kilometers of data) and the processing and interpretation will complete around year end. The first well is expected to be drilled on the block in the second half of 2012.

Well flow testing operations have recently been completed on the West Zahayra-1 well which was a Qawasim formation discovery made in 2008, seven kilometers west of the West Dikirnis field. Prior to testing the original well was sidetracked by approximately 114 feet and the new wellbore encountered 39 feet of net oil pay with an average porosity of 16 percent.

During testing the well flowed good quality black oil (44 degree gravity) with only small amounts of gas. The well was produced for a period of 4 days but had an unstable flow regime with oil rates fluctuating between 80 and 280 bopd. The Company is currently evaluating whether, with an improved completion design, the well may be placed on commercial production and in parallel is reviewing the field appraisal options.

France

Preliminary interpretation of the 7,500 kilometers of 2D seismic data acquired on the Rhône Maritime block earlier this year has confirmed the presence of some significant structures on the block and detailed analysis is ongoing to ascertain whether the data exhibit any direct hydrocarbon indicators. The interpretation is due to be completed late in the fourth quarter.

Romania

Melrose is planning to acquire seismic data over the Muridava and East Cobalcescu blocks offshore Romania in 2012 during the summer. A provision of $17.8 million for these surveys was included as a contingent item in the Company's 2011 capital budget and this will be rephrased in the Company's next financial forecast.

Commenting on today's announcement, David Thomas, Chief Executive, said, "This is a key period in the Company's evolution as we transition from predominantly production and development related investments to place more emphasis on our exploration portfolio. We are looking forward to seeing the results from our exploration wells in Turkey and Bulgaria, both of which represent an important part of the Company's broader exploration program. The results of the West Zahayra flow test in Egypt are also encouraging since they have extended the oil productive area of the Mansoura concession and we will be reviewing the geologic interpretation of this region in parallel with our appraisal studies on the discovery."

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too
LINK

Aker Bags Umbilical Gig for Endeavour's E. Rochelle Proj.

- Aker Bags Umbilical Gig for Endeavour's E. Rochelle Proj.

Thursday, July 21, 2011
Aker Solutions

Aker Solutions has signed a contract with Endeavour Energy UK, a subsidiary of Endeavour International Corporation, to supply subsea umbilicals and associated equipment for the East Rochelle development project located offshore UK. The contract value is approximately NOK 83 million (USD 15 million).

Aker Solutions will supply one 30 kilometer infield control umbilical and one 650 meter riser umbilical that will provide all system functions for the Rochelle field. Subsea umbilicals are deployed on the seabed to supply necessary control and chemicals to subsea oil and gas wells, subsea manifolds and any subsea system requiring a remote control.

The East Rochelle development project comprises of block 15/27 in the Central North Sea, and represents the first phase of the development of the Rochelle area. Endeavour is the operator of East Rochelle.

"We are very pleased to sign our first contract with Endeavour Energy UK. This is an important award for Aker Solutions and confirms our strong position in the umbilical market globally," said Tove Røskaft, senior vice president of Aker Solutions' umbilical business.

Engineering of the umbilicals will be managed out of Aker Solutions' facility in Oslo, Norway, and the umbilicals will be manufactured at Aker Solutions' facility in Moss, Norway. Final deliveries will be made in 2012.

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too
LINK

Noble 2Q Earnings Drop on Rig Downtime

- Noble 2Q Earnings Drop on Rig Downtime

Thursday, July 21, 2011
Noble Corp.

Noble reported second quarter 2011 earnings of $54 million, or $0.21 per diluted share, matching earnings reported for the first quarter of 2011. Results for the second quarter included a $0.04 per diluted share benefit relating to the settlement of certain discrete tax matters. First quarter 2011 results included a one-time after-tax net gain of $0.06 per diluted share relating to the substitution of the drillship Noble Phoenix for the drillship Noble Muravlenko in Brazil. Contract drilling services revenues totaled $590 million in the second quarter of 2011, up nine percent from $543 million in the first quarter of 2011. Contract drilling margin percentage for the second quarter of 2011 was approximately 43 percent compared to 44 percent in the prior quarter. Noble invested $815 million in capital projects during the second quarter.

At June 30, 2011, approximately 73 percent of the Company's available rig operating days were committed for the remainder of 2011 and approximately 43 percent were committed for 2012. The Company's total backlog at June 30, 2011 was approximately $13 billion.

David W. Williams, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, noted, "Second quarter results were significantly hindered by several downtime events involving five rigs. Although we were disappointed by the interruption in service on these rigs, most of which pertained to subsea equipment and control systems, four out of five rigs returned to service prior to the end of the second quarter. Despite the fleet downtime, the quarter was characterized by an improvement in business fundamentals, as utilization and tendering activity improved for both jackups and deepwater units, and several Noble rigs returned to active status."

Operations Highlights

In Mexico, six of Noble's jackups returned to active status during the second quarter following the award of contracts, while a contract on the Noble Sam Noble is expected to commence by the end of July. Also, the Noble Roy Butler was awarded a three-year contract in July, which is expected to commence in September 2011 following the completion of a leg-extension project. Dayrates for the rigs that have or will soon return to work range from approximately $80,000 to $100,000. Noble now has all 12 of its jackup rigs in Mexico under contract, with 10 of the 12 units under contract into late 2011 or beyond.

In the North Sea, the jackup Noble Byron Welliver was awarded a three-well contract at a dayrate of $91,000, while the jackup Noble Lynda Bossler was awarded a two-well contract at a dayrate of $105,000. Both rigs are expected to commence their new contracts in or around January 2012.

The Company continued to build its presence in Saudi Arabia following the award of contracts for the jackups Noble Gene House and Noble Joe Beall. The three-year contracts are expected to commence in September 2011 with an operating dayrate for each rig of $81,000. With these awards, the Company now has four jackups committed to Saudi Aramco.

Finally, in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, the semisubmersible Noble Jim Day began receiving its full contract dayrate of $485,000 on July 11 following the award to our client of permits necessary to commence well operations in the region. In addition, certification of the subsea control system on the semisubmersible Noble Driller was completed in July and the rig is expected to resume operations shortly at its full operating dayrate, pending receipt of a drilling permit. The Company now has certified subsea equipment and control systems on all six of its active semisubmersibles in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

"Offshore demand continues to build in most regions around the world, supporting expectations for gradually improving utilization and dayrates among our jackups and floating rigs," said Williams. He added, "Additional client demand for jackups is visible in Mexico and the Middle East. In the deepwater sector, Petrobras continues to tender for dynamically positioned and moored rigs for offshore Brazil with contract lengths of three to five years and we continue to see client interest in some of the emerging deepwater frontiers."

In closing, Williams stated, "Our fleet enhancement program, currently composed of the construction of seven ultra-deepwater drillships and four high-specification jackups, is transforming Noble into one of the industry's most modern and capable offshore drilling contractors. As client demand in the offshore sector increases and expands geographically, so does the need for technically advanced, versatile and efficient rigs that address both shallow and deepwater prospects. We believe our strategic growth initiatives strongly position the Company to benefit from further client demand and offshore industry expansion."

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too
LINK

Harvest Natural Strikes Again Offshore Gabon

- Harvest Natural Strikes Again Offshore Gabon

Thursday, July 21, 2011
Harvest Natural Resources Inc.

Harvest Natural Resources announced an update to its drilling operations in the Dussafu Ruche Marin-1 (DRM-1) well drilled in the Dussafu Marin PSC, offshore Gabon, West Africa. Harvest operates the Dussafu PSC, holding a 66.667% interest.

The DRM-1 well was initially drilled in 380 feet of water. On June 10, 2011, Harvest announced an oil discovery in the pre-salt Gamba reservoir with plans to deepen the well to test Middle and Lower Dentale exploration potential and sidetrack to appraise the extent of the Gamba oil discovery.

Subsequently the DRM-1 well has been deepened to reach a true vertical depth subsea (TVDSS) of 11,355 feet to test the prospectivity of the Middle and Lower Dentale Formations. Log evaluation, pressure data and a fluid sample indicate that Harvest has discovered a second oil accumulation with approximately 35 feet of oil pay within the secondary objective of the Middle Dentale Formation.

The Gamba discovery has been appraised by drilling a sidetrack (DRM-1ST1) 0.75 miles to the southwest to test the lateral extent and structural elevation of the Gamba reservoir. The sidetrack was drilled to a TD in the Upper Dentale of 11,562 feet, (9,428 feet TVDSS) and found 19 feet of oil pay in the Gamba reservoir.

Harvest will now sidetrack the DRM-1 well to the northwest of the original DRM-1 wellbore to further appraise the extent and structural elevation of the Gamba and the commerciality of the Ruche discovery.

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too
LINK