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The Oil Market In The 4th Week Of 2024 Brings Updates On Discoveries And Exploratory Drilling Worldwide. Auction Participation Is Also Highlighted.
The fourth week of 2024 was busy for Esgian, with many relevant news about the oil market. New reports on oil discoveries and exploratory drilling activities were highlighted, along with updates on contracts and mobilization of rigs in several regions of the world.
Week 4 Of Esgian
Drilling Activity And Discoveries
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Asian demand for Brazilian oil skyrockets and drives exports to a historic record in early 2026.
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Fragile negotiation between the USA and Iran drives oil prices up: what is happening?
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Petrobras made two discoveries in the pre-salt of the Campos Basin in less than 30 days: “excellent quality” oil in Marlim Sul in March and hydrocarbons at 2,984 meters in April.
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The government will pay R$ 1.20 for each liter of diesel that Brazil imports and for the first time in history requires distributors to reveal how much they profit — those who hide their margins will face fines of up to R$ 500 million…
Equinor discovered oil in the exploration well 30/12-3 S in the North Sea offshore Norway. The well also included a side track, 30/12-3 A, which was dry. Equinor drilled the well on behalf of Aker BP, which is the operator of production license 272 B where the wells are located. The license is part of the Munin field, which was discovered in 2011. The drilling was conducted by the semi-submersible Deepsea Stavanger, which operates at 10,000 feet, from Odfjell Drilling.
Tullow Oil expects to conclude its drilling activity in the Jubilee field, offshore Ghana, about six months ahead of schedule. The company and its joint venture partners then plan to pause drilling in Ghana before resuming in 2025. Tullow Oil has been drilling in its Jubilee and TEN fields in the Ghanaian sea using the 12,000-foot Noble drilling ship Noble Venturer (previously Maersk Venturer) for the past few years.
After more than a year waiting offshore Darwin, Australia, the 8,200-foot semi-submersible Valaris MS-1 resumed drilling operations in the Barossa project in Santos. The rig arrived at the Barossa field in mid-January, coming from its waiting location southeast of Cape Fourcroy, Bathurst Island, in the Beagle Gulf.
Santos said that despite delays, it still expects first gas from Barossa in 2025, though not in the first half of 2025 as originally planned when the FID was made in 2021.
Borr Drilling’s 400-foot jackup Gunnlod completed its work with SapuraOMV after drilling six development wells in the Jerun field offshore Sarawak, Malaysia. Gunnlod is expected to remain in Malaysia for upcoming work with an undisclosed operator, scheduled to operate from February to May 2024, based on a binding LOA set in 2023.
Week 4 Of Esgian
Murphy Oil is moving forward with plans to drill two exploratory wells in the Cuu Long Basin, off the coast of Vietnam, in 2024. The wells are expected to be drilled in the second half of 2024 using the 425-foot Japan Drilling Hakuryu-11. Exploration wells in the eastern US GOM are also planned for 2024, with drilling dates expected in the second quarter of 2024. Oxy plans to drill the Ocotillo well in Mississippi Canyon Block 40 and the Orange well in Mississippi Canyon Block 216. The company referred to these wells as ‘promising exploration opportunities’ at the end of 2023. Oxy has two drilling rigs under contract in the US GOM: 12,000-foot Valaris DS-16 and 10,000-foot Diamond Offshore Ocean Blackhawk.
The Portuguese oil company Galp announced on Friday that it discovered a significant column of light oil in sands containing high-quality reservoirs at AVO-2, a deeper target of the Mopane-1X well, offshore Namibia. Galp is using the semi-submersible Hercules, managed by Odfjell Drilling, for the operation.
Demand
Recent updates on the progress of the Sea Lion development included an updated development plan to align with the reservoir models of Navitas Petroleum LP, leading to an 11% increase in certified resources across the North Falkland Basin portfolio. Navitas identified suitable and available floating production, storage, and offloading vessels (FPSOs) and is actively working with leading industry suppliers to secure all long-lead equipment, aiming to achieve the Final Investment Decision (FID) for Phase 1 of Sea Lion in 2024 and reach first oil by the end of 2026.
Sonangol and its partners continue to plan activities in Blocks B3/05 and B3/05A offshore Angola. Partner Afentra stated that it continues the planning of the initial phase selection for the installation of submersible electric pumps, works, and fill wells in B3/05 and B3/05A. Drilling candidates include the undeveloped Bufalo Nord field, the Gazela discovery, and an exploration well in Pacassa South West.
Mobilization/Rig Movements
The 4,921-foot semi-submersible COSLProspector from COSL left the Canary Islands and is now heading to its final destination, Norway. The semi-submersible is expected to arrive in Norway in early February 2024. After preparations, it will begin a firm two-year contract with Vår Energi in the Barents Sea in the third quarter of 2024.
The 300-foot jackup owned by Shelf Drilling, Main Pass IV, has restarted operations with Saudi Aramco in the Middle East. Main Pass IV completed its planned maintenance at the Zamil Shipyard in Saudi Arabia. With the resumption of this contract, the rig will be occupied until March 2025.
The 1,640-foot semi-submersible Stena Don from Stena Drilling is at a shipyard in Norway, where it is undergoing some recertification work related to the special periodic inspection (SPS)/UWILD. The rig has been under contract with Shell in the UK since May 2023, but the contract was recently paused for it to undergo these SPS-related works, which are expected to be completed by February 27, 2024. Once these operations are completed, the semi-submersible will return to the North Sea.
Valaris’ 350-ft jackup Valaris 118 is docked in Chaguaramas, Trinidad, for routine maintenance and upgrades before its upcoming six-well campaign with BP. Valaris 118 has been working for BP in Trinidad since October 2022. After its stay in the shipyard, the rig will return to BP offshore Trinidad for a six-well contract extension set for November 2023.
Transocean’s 1,640-foot semi-submersible Transocean Endurance left Dampier, Australia, and is being towed to the Stybarrow facilities at Woodside to start a P&A contract. The rig, which arrived in Australia from Norway earlier this year, is headed to Eskdale, a reservoir that is part of the Stybarrow Development along with the Stybarrow reservoir. The Cat D rig is expected to arrive onsite on Thursday, January 25, and after final acceptance, it should begin its contract by the end of the week.
Other News
The Government of the Republic of South Africa has given final approval for the transfer of a 6.25% stake in Block 3B/4B from Eco Atlantic’s subsidiary Azinam Limited to Africa Oil Corp. With this transaction, first announced in July 2023, Africa Oil will hold a operated interest of 26.25% in the block, while Eco Atlantic has a 20% interest and Ricocure (Pty) Ltd holds a 53.75% interest.
W&T Offshore acquired six fields in shallow US GOM waters for US$ 72 million, excluding certain closing costs. W&T Offshore made an offer on these assets offered by Cox Operating and related companies that filed for bankruptcy in May 2023.
Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas Ltd. initiated its entry into the second phase of the second renewal period for the Orinduik License in Guyana, effective January 14, 2024. In this Second Phase, there is a commitment to drill an exploratory well in the Cretaceous formation by the end of the license period, on January 13, 2026.
Stena’s 5,000-foot harsh environment semi-submersible Stena Spey is being marketed for sale. Maritime consultancy Clarksons is assisting in the divestment of the unit. Stena Spey was delivered by DSME in 1983 as High Seas Driller and has primarily worked in the UK North Sea and the Irish Sea since.
Petronas of Malaysia awarded Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) for six exploration blocks and a Cluster of discovered resource opportunities (DRO) marketed in the 2023 Malaysia Bid Round (MBR 2023). Petronas also launched the 2024 Malaysia Bid Round.
NEO Energy submitted the environmental statement (ES) to the country’s regulator for its development at Buchan Horst, in the UK North Sea. The Buchan Redevelopment Project, operated by NEO Energy, involves the redevelopment of the Buchan Horst field in Outer Moray Firth in UKCS Blocks 20/05a and 21/01a in the Central North Sea, approximately 115 km northeast of Aberdeenshire’s coast. The proposed project will involve drilling up to five production wells and two water injection wells at two drilling centers located within a single 500 m safety zone. At the time of the ES preparation, NEO had not yet determined whether a semi-submersible or jackup rig would be used to drill the proposed wells.
United Oil & Gas Plc secured a two-year extension to its Walton Morant offshore license in Jamaica until January 31, 2026. The company holds a 100% interest in the block. During this extension, United intends to conduct additional technical studies, including piston core sampling and seismic reprocessing, aimed at further reducing the risks of the petroleum system and better defining the prospects and leads identified in the license.
Petrobras formally expressed interest to the National Energy Policy Council (CNPE) in securing the right of preference for the Jaspe pre-salt block in the Campos Basin. This asset is scheduled to be auctioned in the third round of the Permanent Offering System, operating under the Production Sharing Regime. By exercising its preferential bidding right, Petrobras can secure a 30% operational stake in Jaspe.
Offshore Energy Drilling Industry News Activity Oil And Gas
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