Edison Investment Research

Some way to go for FAR in FAN

FAR has today released independently assessed resource figures for the FAN deepwater basin discovery offshore Senegal. RISC assigns 2C recoverable resources of 198mmbbls, based on data from the FAN-1 discovery well, drilled in 2014. Given that the well encountered thin reservoir sands of disappointing quality, the JV has since focused on appraising and developing the more attractive SNE field that sits nearby in shallower water on the shelf.

Exploration Watch - Trinidad: New energy to a low cost, low risk region

Trinidad is a well-established oil and gas producing region, with continuous production since the first field came onstream in 1902. The hydrocarbon sector has been predominantly producing gas since the 1990s and offshore gas development is dominated by the majors: BP, Shell, BHP and EOG resources. This has created an opportunity for independent companies to operate in the onshore oil fields located in the south of the island. Columbus Energy Resources (CERP), Range Resources, Touchstone Exploration and Trinity Exploration and Production all operate producing onshore oil fields, while Trinity also operates offshore in the Columbus Basin. Recent management changes or new funding at these companies has resulted in a boost to activity across assets that offer low cost, low risk development, although there are challenges in producing from older well stock in geologically complex structures.

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Barents Sea: greater success in 2018?

One of the most high profile wells to be drilled in 2017 was Statoil’s Korpfjell exploration well in the Barents Sea. The well found only a small non-commercial volume of gas, and contributed to a year of disappointing results for the region. In 2018 there are no similar multi-billion barrel potential prospects scheduled to be drilled, however we do see a sustained commitment to the Barents, with seven exploration wells confirmed and options for a further five wells announced to date. Statoil and Lundin remain as key explorers in the region, but AkerBP will also make a major contribution to the number of wells drilled, as it plans to operate or partner in six wells in the Barents, out of its total Norwegian exploration programme of 12 wells in 2018.

Lower break even for Johan Sverdrup

With the world class development almost 70% complete, estimated costs have been reduced and the resource estimate increased, bringing the break even costs down to below $15/bbl for Phase 1 of the Statoilt operated project, offshore Norway.

Kosmos exploration hiccups

Kosmos this week announced that its most recent exploration well offshore Mauritania, Lamantin-1, was water bearing.

The well is the second disappointment in a four well exploration campaign offshore Mauritania and Senegal designed to test the outboard basin floor fan fairway. Since its Tortue-1 discovery in 2015, the company had enjoyed a 100% success rate in the region, with 25 Tcf discovered across five wells.

Positive news from Genel’s Taq Taq

Results from TT-29w, the latest well to be drilled in the field, have proved an oil water contact (OWC) to be 145m deeper than estimated pre-drill at this location, implying that more oil could be recovered from the flanks of the field than currently planned.