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Elaine Reynolds
3 April 2019

No magic at Presto as well comes up dry

The exploration well Presto in the Norwegian North Sea has encountered good reservoir quality rocks, but, according to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, hydrocarbons were not present. UK independent Cairn Energy holds a 30% stake in the Equinor operated PL885 licence. The well was targeting 160mmboe gross mean resources in the Lower Cretaceous Agat sandstones with a secondary objective in shallower stacked channelised turbidite fan complexes in the Upper Cretaceous

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Elaine Reynolds
20 March 2019

Orinduik resource upgrade for Eco Atlantic offshore Guyana

Company adds mainly Tertiary prospects to portfolio

A CPR carried out for Eco Atlantic by Gustavson Associates LLC has increased the gross prospective resources (P50) in its Orinduik Block, offshore Guyana, from 2,913mmboe to 3,981mmboe. The new figure was assessed after taking into account ExxonMobil’s Hammerhead Tertiary discovery, together with the processing and interpretation of 2,550km2 3D seismic acquired in 2017.

The bulk of the increase is due to the addition of five new leads, of which four, Jethro, Jethro Ext, Joe and HH are all targeting the Tertiary.

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Elaine Reynolds
10 October 2018

Pontoenoe-1- latest well to disappoint offshore Suriname

Kosmos Energy is plugging and abandoning its Pontoenoe-1 exploration well in Block 42 offshore Suriname, after encountering water in the Upper Cretaceous primary target. It is the company’s second well to be drilled in the region this year, with the Anapai-1 well also failing to find hydrocarbons in the Lower Cretaceous. Both wells did however encounter high quality reservoir and Kosmos believes it has found evidence of a working source kitchen in Pontoenoe-1. Both appear to have failed due to a lack of trap, a key risk in stratigraphic prospects. The company expects to return to drill in Suriname in 2020, where it holds a portfolio of multiple independent prospects. The Kosmos wells were highlighted by us as wells to watch in our ‘Exploration Watch: 2018 exploration wells’ report.

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Elaine Reynolds
25 September 2018

Tullow’s Namibian well disappoints

Tullow Oil’s Cormorant-1 well is being plugged and abandoned after encountering water bearing sands, in the latest well to be drilled in the Walvis Basin offshore Namibia. Interest from industry has been intensifying as it looks to capitalise on the 2013 breakthrough Wingat and Murombe wells, and the majors have been moving in, with ExxonMobil farming into two separate deals in 2018. Attention in the region will now switch to the south of Cormorant, as the Ocean Rig Poseidon moves to PEL 71 to drill Prospect S for Chariot Oil & Gas. Both Cormorant-1 and Prospect S were highlighted by us as wells to watch in our ‘Exploration Watch: 2018 exploration wells’ report.

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Elaine Reynolds
4 September 2018

Tullow spuds Cormorant well offshore Namibia

UK independent Tullow Oil has spudded the Cormorant exploration well in the Walvis Basin offshore Namibia and highlighted by us as a well to watch in our ‘Exploration Watch: 2018 exploration wells’ report. The well is targeting resources of 125mmbbls in a basin slope Cenomanian Cretaceous fan covering 120km2. If successful, the well would open up a potential 1bnbbls in other fans for the company together with the rest of the basin for the industry, where majors have been building a position in recent years, most recently with ExxonMobil’s 30% farm in to AziNam’s PEL 44 licence immediately to the south of Cormorant. The well is one of two high profile wells to be drilled in Namibia this year, with Chariot Oil & Gas due to drill its Prospect S well from mid-October and also covered in our report.

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Elaine Reynolds
26 June 2018

Drilling success remains elusive in Suriname

Kosmos Energy’s Anapai-1 is being plugged and abandoned after failing to find hydrocarbons in the latest well to be drilled offshore Suriname. The well is the latest in a number of recent attempts to prove an extension of the Cretaceous fan play that has been so successful for ExxonMobil in neighbouring Guyana (The company has just announced its eighth discovery, Longtail, in its prolific Stabroek block).

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Elaine Reynolds
21 March 2017

Wells to watch in 2017

Since the oil price crash of 2014, exploration has been particularly badly hit as companies looked to trim expenditure. Wood Mackenzie estimates that 2017 exploration will account for 8% of upstream expenditure, down from historic norms of 14%. In this more difficult environment, any surviving exploration has tended to be led by majors, for example ExxonMobil’s giant Liza discovery offshore Guyana in 2015. In our most recent Exploration Watch, we highlight wells due to spud in 2017 that involve independent companies, with resources estimates greater than 100mmboe. Our exception is the much anticipated multi-billion barrel potential Korpfjell prospect in the Barents Sea offshore Norway, which is operated by Statoil and partnered by major companies.

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