Drilling & Completion News

TOTAL begins 44-well Egina project in deepwater Nigeria

An intensive drilling program is under way on the Egina project in Nigeria, TOTAL announced. Two rigs will be kept busy for a total of 3,000 days, drilling 44 wells in water depths ranging between 1,400-1,700 m.

“This is the deepest offshore project ever operated by TOTAL,” Jean-Michel Guy, Executive General Manager of the Egina Project, commented. “With production of 200,000 bbl/day, it will contribute significantly to achieving TOTAL’s 2017 production objectives.”

Several thousand local jobs will be created, and extensive local infrastructure will be upgraded or built, contributing to Nigeria’s sustainable development.

In related news, Saipem recently selected BMT Scientific Marine Services to supply the riser integrity monitoring systems for the Egina development.

Riser integrity monitoring systems measure bending moments and tensile forces in risers to provide end users with an understanding of the risers’ condition. Data from these systems can lead to long-term improvements in riser design.

The Egina project will feature systems that incorporate BMT’s ROV-Serviceable Subsea Strain Sensor Assembly. This allows for continuous monitoring and data collection, preserving the absolute bending and tension measurement while a single sensor is removed and replaced.

Chevron finds oil at Anchor in deepwater US GOM

Chevron recently discovered oil at the Anchor prospect in the deepwater US Gulf of Mexico. The Anchor No. 2 Well, located in Green Canyon Block 807, was drilled to a total depth of 33,749 ft and encountered significant high-quality pay in multiple Inboard Lower Tertiary Wilcox Sands. The Anchor discovery well is located approximately 140 miles from the Louisiana coast in 5,183 ft of water. Appraisal drilling will begin in 2015.

Central Panuco’s newly delivered jackup to work for PEMEX

Keppel AmFELS, a US subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine, has delivered the jackup Coatzacoalcos to Mexico’s Central Panuco, a subsidiary of Mexico’s Perforadora Central, on time, within budget and with zero loss-time incidents.

Coatzacoalcos is the fourth jackup rig built by Keppel AmFELS for Perforadora Central and the third based on the LeTourneau Super 116E design. The rig is designed to drill in up to 350 ft of water in moderate environmental locations and can be outfitted to handle high-temperature, high-pressure wells. Coatzacoalcos will be chartered by PEMEX for work offshore Mexico.

Keppel AmFELS’ yard in Brownsville, Texas, is currently building a fifth jackup for Perforadora Central to Keppel’s proprietary KFELS B Class design. The KFELS B Class jackups are able to operate in water depths of 400 ft, drill to 30,000 ft and accommodate 150 people. The jackup is scheduled for delivery in Q4 2015.

Production under way on deepwater Tubular Bells field

Hess Corp has commenced production from the Tubular Bells Field, located in the Mississippi Canyon area of the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.

Following a ramp-up period, Tubular Bells is expected to deliver an estimated gross production of 50,000 boed from three producing wells by year-end.

“We are proud to deliver Tubular Bells safely and on budget. One year after Hess took over as operator, the project was sanctioned and fast-tracked with an execution schedule to first oil in just three years,” CEO John Hess said.

Tubular Bells lies in approximately 4,300 ft of water, 135 miles southeast of New Orleans.

BP produces first oil from Kinnoull field in North Sea

BP has commenced production from the Kinnoull field, located in the Central North Sea.

The Kinnoull reservoir, developed as part of a wider rejuvenation of the Andrew field area, is tied back to BP’s Andrew platform, 230 km east of Aberdeen, and is expected to enable production there to be extended by a decade.

A new subsea system has been installed, together with a 700-ton topside processing module on the Andrew platform. Production is now carried from the Kinnoull field to the Andrew platform via a 28-km subsea pipeline bundle for processing and onward export.

Rowan secures jackup contracts, extensions

Rowan Companies’ Joe Douglas, a LeTourneau Technologies 240-C Class jackup, has been awarded a one-well contract with Fieldwood in the Gulf of Mexico for an estimated 30-40 days, the contractor announced in its December fleet status report. Dayrate for the contract is expected to commence at $95,000. In addition, the rig was awarded a three-well contract with BHP Billiton in Trinidad for an estimated duration of 120 days. This contract is expected to commence in September 2015 at an effective dayrate of $231,000.

Rowan also announced that the Rowan Gorilla IV jackup has been awarded a two-well contract with Arena in the Gulf of Mexico for an estimated duration of 90-120 days, which was expected to commence in early to mid-January 2015 at $110,000/day.

The Rowan Gorilla III’s contract with a rig share group in Trinidad has been extended by approximately six months, from July 2015 to February 2016, at a dayrate of $165,000.

The Rowan Gorilla II has been awarded a four-well contract with Vestigo in Malaysia for an estimated duration of 120 days, which is expected to commence in late March 2015 at a dayrate of $128,000.

Rowan expects out-of-service time for the full-year of 2015 to be approximately 3-6% for its jackups and drillships, subject to fleet repositioning and market conditions. No operational downtime is included in projected out-of-service days, but the company estimates jackup operational downtime to account for approximately 2.5% of in-service days in current and future quarters.

Eni achieves production offshore Congo

Eni has started production from the Nené Marine field offshore Congo, eight months after obtaining the production permit and 16 months following the exploration discovery. The field is located in Marine XII Block, approximately 17 km from the coast, at a water depth of 28 m. Production comes from the Djeno pre-salt formation. Development of the field will take place in several stages and will include the drilling of more than 30 wells, with a plateau of more than 140,000 boed.

Elsewhere, the operator was awarded an exploration license in the Croatian First Offshore Licensing Round. The license is in Block 9, which is situated in the Adriatic Offshore. Eni will have a 60% participating interest and the role of operator, in partnership with Rockhopper (40%). The agreement is expected to be formalized by April 2015.

Statoil extends rig suspensions due to overcapacity

Statoil has extended the suspension periods for the COSL Pioneer, Scarabeo 5 and Songa Trym rigs, citing overcapacity in its rig portfolio.

The three rigs were initially suspended until the end of 2014. The COSL Pioneer will be suspended for an additional seven and a half months. The suspension periods for Scarabeo 5 and Songa Trym will be extended by one and a half months and one month, respectively. The extension period for Songa Trym could be reduced, or avoided, if acceleration of activities is achieved, according to Statoil.

Meanwhile, Statoil has been awarded four new exploration permits offshore New Zealand. The permits were awarded through the 2014 Block Offer.

Statoil is participating in three blocks in the East Coast and Pegasus basins as a partner to operator Chevron. Statoil also takes on operatorship for one new permit next to existing acreage in the Reinga basin.

DNV GL introduces recommended practice for subsea lifting

The completion of a joint industry project to improve existing standards and regulations around subsea lifting operations has resulted in a new recommended practice (RP).

DNV GL developed the RP to provide guidance on the proper design and correct operation, as well as regular inspection and maintenance, of subsea cranes and lifting appliances. The aim is to reduce the overall risk and safeguard personnel during lifting operations and to improve the integrity and efficiency of equipment throughout its lifetime.

The RP is applicable to lifting appliances used in subsea lifting operations.

The recommendations provide guidelines on the evaluation of existing lifting appliances, as well as the design and qualification of new lifting systems for subsea operations.

Petrobras makes 1st discovery in Colombian Caribbean

The Petrobras Orca-1 exploratory well has revealed a gas accumulation in Colombian Caribbean deepwaters, 40 km off the coast of La Guajira. This is the first discovery in the history of deepwater exploration of this region of the Caribbean, according to Petrobras. Drilling reached 4,240 m in a water depth of 674 m.

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