Drilling & Completion News

UMW, Vision Drilling jackups delivered early

Keppel FELS has delivered the UMW Naga 4 jackup to UMW Oil & Gas five days ahead of schedule in February, on budget and with a perfect safety record.

UMW Naga 4, built to Keppel’s proprietary KFELS B Class design, is able to operate in water depths of up to 400 ft with a drilling depth of 30,000 ft. It is the fourth consecutive rig that Keppel FELS has delivered ahead of schedule this year. The company is expected to deliver 20 offshore rigs in 2013, a record number for any yard worldwide.

Vision Drilling, a subsidiary of Cyprus-based Dynamic Offshore Drilling, received the first of 20 rigs, also a KFELS B Class jackup, two months ahead of time in January.

Frigstad confirms order of 2 ultra-deepwater rigs

Subsidiaries of Frigstad Deepwater have entered into construction contracts for the delivery of two ultra-deepwater semisubmersibles from CIMC Raffles in Yantai, China, with options for four more units.

The drilling units, deemed to be seventh-generation rigs, are of the Frigstad D90 design and will be capable of operating in water depths up to 12,000 ft and drilling to a TD of 50,000 ft. The units will be outfitted with a DP3 dynamic positioning system, full dual-activity hydraulic drilling package with 1,400 ST hoisting capacity and seven-ram BOPs.

The two drilling units are scheduled for delivery at the end of Q4 2015 and Q2 2016. The total project cost is approximately US $1.3 billion, exclusive of financing costs.

Central GOM lease sale to offer 38.6 million acres

Central Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 227 will offer 38.6 million acres offshore Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama for oil and gas exploration and development, announced US Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) director Tommy P. Beaudreau. BOEM estimates the lease sale could result in the production of 0.46 billion to 0.89 billion bbls of oil and 1.9 Tcf to 3.9 Tcf of natural gas.

The lease sale encompasses 7,299 blocks located from three miles to 230 miles offshore, in water depths ranging from 9 ft to more than 11,115 ft (3 meters to 3,400 meters).

The sale, which will be held on 20 March at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, includes all unleased areas in the Central Gulf of Mexico Planning Area.

Greatdrill Chaaya delivered, to work for ONGC

Greatship Global Energy Services, a Singapore subsidiary of Greatship (India) Ltd (GIL), has taken delivery of the Greatdrill Chaaya jackup from Lamprell Energy.

Greatdrill Chaaya is an independent leg-cantilever jackup with 15,000-psi rating, designed to operate in water depths of up to 350 ft. The jackup is contracted to ONGC for five years and will operate on the west coast of India.

With the delivery of Greatdrill Chaaya, GIL and its subsidiaries currently own and operate three jackups.

Apache, Chevron to partner on Kitimat LNG project

Apache Canada has completed a transaction with Chevron Canada to build and operate the Kitimat LNG project and develop natural gas resources at the Liard and Horn River basins in British Columbia, Canada.

Each company is 50% owner of the Kitimat LNG plant, the Pacific Trail Pipelines and 644,000 gross undeveloped acres in the Horn River and Liard basins. After a brief transition period, Chevron Canada will assume operatorship of the LNG plant and the pipeline. Apache Canada increased its ownership in the LNG plant and pipeline from 40% and will operate the upstream assets. Apache’s net proceeds from the transaction were $405 million.

Liard and Horn River are two of the most prolific shale gas plays in North America, with more than 50 Tcf of resource potential on the Apache-Chevron acreage.

Eni makes oil discovery in Western Desert of Egypt

Eni recently made a new oil discovery from the NFW well, Rosa North 1X, located in the Meleiha Concession in the Western Desert of Egypt. The well encountered a total oil pay of approximately 80 meters in multiple good-quality sandstones of the Bahariya, Alam El Bueib, Khatatba and Ras Qattara reservoirs and has been successfully tested in the reservoirs flowing a 43° to 48° API oil at very good rates.

The discovery will likely lead to the drilling of at least two development wells in 2013. Production for each well is estimated at 2,000 bbls of oil/day.

Separately, Eni and Sonatrach have started gas production from the Menzel Ledjmet East field in Block 405b, approximately 1,000 km from Algiers. A plant, located in the field, allows for the treatment of rich gas for the daily production and sale of 9 million cu meters of gas, 15,000 bbls of oil and condensate, and 12,000 bbls of liquefied petroleum gas.

Chevron finds gas again in Australia’s prolific Carnarvon Basin

Chevron’s Australian subsidiary has made the 20th discovery off the Western Australian coast since mid-2009 following further drilling success in the Exmouth Plateau area, located in the prolific Carnarvon Basin.

The Kentish Knock South-1 exploration discovery well encountered approximately 246 ft (75 meters) of net gas pay in the upper Mungaroo Sands. The well is located in the WA-365-P permit area approximately 173 miles (280 km) north of Exmouth off the Western Australian coast.

The well was drilled in 3,832 ft (1,168 meters) of water to a total depth of 10,056 ft (3,065 meters).

“The Asia Pacific region is key to Chevron’s growth strategy, and our strong Australia natural gas portfolio continues to be bolstered by our strategic approach to finding and developing resources that will help meet the growing energy needs in the region,” said George Kirkland, Chevron vice chairman.

Chevron Australia is the operator of WA-365-P with 50% interest while Shell Development (Australia) holds the other 50%.

Vantage receives Letter of Award for drillship

Vantage Drilling has received a conditional Letter of Award for its newbuild drillship Tungsten Explorer to work in West Africa. The award is for a period of up to four years, commencing in mid-2014. The contract has a minimum duration of two years, and the customer has four six-month options to extend the contract.

The letter of award is subject to customary conditions, including negotiating the final terms of the contract, which is anticipated to be completed in Q1 2013. The estimated revenue over the initial two-year firm period of the contract is approximately US $468 million, including mobilization.

“Since the Tungsten Explorer is scheduled for delivery in May 2013, we expect to obtain additional work for the unit to commence upon delivery from the shipyard. We are currently discussing drilling requirements for the second half of 2013 and early 2014 with both affiliates of the counterparty to this contract, as well as several others customers,” Paul A. Bragg, chairman and CEO of Vantage, said.

Petrobras makes oil discovery in Santos Basin pre-salt 

Petrobras has discovered oil in the Santos Basin pre-salt area, known informally as Florim, following the drilling of a sixth well since the Rights Transfer Agreement was signed.

The well, 1-BRSA-1116-RJS (1-RJS-704), is located at a water depth of 6,591 ft (2,009 meters), 128 miles (206 km) off the coast of Rio de Janeiro state, and the presence of good quality oil (29º API) has been confirmed in carbonate reservoirs of excellent quality just below the salt layer.

Drilling has reached a depth of 18,038 ft (5,498 meters) and will continue down as far as the depth specified in the Rights Transfer Agreement of around 2,013 ft (6,100 meters).

Seadrill orders two jackups for 2015 delivery

Seadrill has entered into an agreement for the construction of two high-specification jackups with Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Offshore in China. The units are scheduled for delivery in Q1 and Q2 2015, and the estimated total project price is approximately US $230 million per rig, including project management, capitalized interest, drilling and handling tools, spares and operation preparations.

The two new units will be based on the F&G JU2000E design, with water depth capacity of 400 ft and drilling depth capacity of 30,000 ft. The new jackups are of the same design as four other jackups that Seadrill has under construction at Dalian and Jurong in Singapore.

Mubadala Petroleum hires Atwood Orca newbuild

Atwood Oceanics has been awarded a drilling services contract for the Atwood Orca by Mubadala Petroleum. The Atwood Orca, currently under construction at PPL Shipyard in Singapore, will have a rated water depth of 400 ft, 1.5 million-lb hookload capacity, accommodation for 150 personnel and significant offline handling capabilities. The agreement is for a firm duration of two years.

The Atwood Orca is expected to be delivered in early May 2013, ahead of its scheduled June delivery. It will mobilize for a period of approximately 10 days to its first location offshore Thailand.