Petronas Secures Gas Supply for LNG Plant
[2010/03/09]

Petronas announced Mar. 9 that the company has signed a gas sales agreement with upstream contractors Sarawak Shell Berhad and Petronas Carigali for the natural gas to be produced from three fields in Block SK308 offshore Sarawak. The agreement will see the development of three gas fields, namely F28, F14 and E6, where the gas produced from the fields will be delivered by the contractors primarily to meet the supply requirements of the MLNG Tiga plant within the Petronas LNG Complex in Bintulu. The F28 gas field will be developed first where first gas is expected to be produced by April 2012. Block SK 308, which is about 200 kilometers offshore Sarawak, was awarded to Sarawak Shell (50%; operator) and Petronas Carigali (50%) via a production sharing contract in 1998.
Lukoil, Vanco Discover Gas-Condensate and Oil at Ghana Well
[2010/03/02]
A consortium of three companies, Lukoil (56.66 percent), Vanco Energy Co.  (28.34 percent) and Ghana National Petroleum Corp. (15 percent), has discovered a significant hydrocarbon accumulation in the Dzata structure of the Cape Three Points Deep Water Block in the Gulf of Guinea offshore Ghana. The Dzata-1 well, drilled to a depth of some 4.5 kilometers from the sea level, tapped a 94-meter-thick hydrocarbon column containing a 25-meter multilayer oil and gas pay. The primary reservoir sandstone contains gas and light oil. The total area of the block is about 5,200 square kilometers, while the water depth within the block ranges from 200 meters to 3,000 meters. The Dzata-1 structure lies at a depth of almost 2 kilometers.
Centrica Acquires Suncor's T&T Interests
[2010/02/25]

Centrica announced Feb. 25 that it has signed an agreement with Suncor Energy (Suncor), under which Centrica will acquire Suncor's Trinidad and Tobago portfolio of gas assets for US$380 million in cash. This acquisition provides Centrica with its first producing liquefied natural gas (LNG) position. This portfolio of gas assets comprises a 17.3 percent stake in the North Coast Marine Area (NCMA-1) gas production area and equity interests in three blocks; Blocks 22, 1(a) and 1(b), for future development.

            The NCMA-1 block currently supplies gas into the Atlantic LNG facility, and holds remaining working interests of 266 bcf of proven and probable (2P) reserves attributable to Centrica's 17.3 percent stake. This will provide Centrica with 60-70 MMcf/d of gas production in 2010. Gas produced from NCMA-1 has been contracted to a third party on a long-term basis until 2023. Gas development opportunities in Block 22 and Blocks 1(a) and 1(b) comprise a 90 percent and 80 percent operated interest respectively and contain recoverable gas resources attributable to Centrica's equity stakes estimated at 1.34 tcf.
Anadarko Announces First Deepwater Discovery Offshore Mozambique
[2010/02/22]
Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (Anadarko) announced Feb. 18 the Windjammer exploration well in the frontier Rovuma Basin offshore Mozambique has reached an intermediate casing point and encountered more than 480 net feet of natural gas pay in high-quality reservoir sands, with a gross column of more than 1,200 feet. To date, this well has tested one of the seven identified play types in Anadarko's operated acreage offshore Mozambique.

"The intermediate results of the Windjammer well are positive for the partnership and the people of Mozambique," said Bob Daniels, Anadarko Sr. Vice President, Worldwide Exploration. "This is true rank wildcat exploration, and to have our first deepwater exploration well result in a discovery with more than 480 net feet of pay, thus far, is a strong indication of the potential of this basin. The Windjammer discovery de-risks a substantial portion of approximately 50 leads and prospects that we've identified across our 2.6-million-acre position in the basin." ... Read more

Interoil Ups Reserves Estimate for Antelope Field
[2010/02/18]
Interoil  announced Feb. 16 the details of the independent engineering evaluations prepared by GLJ Petroleum Consultants Ltd., which evaluated the resources at the Elk/Antelope field in Papua New Guinea. The GLJ Report provides a best case estimate of 8.2 tcf of natural gas and 156.5 million barrels of condensate (MMBbls). This compares to the year-end 2008 best case contingent resources estimate of 3.4 tcf of natural gas and 59.3 MMBbls. This amounts to a 141 percent increase from 631 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMBOE) to 1.52 billion barrels of oil equivalent. Interoil announced December 1, 2009 that the Antelope-2 well flowed at a world record tate of 705 MMcf/d including 11,200 b/d of condensate.

Petronas Awards Gas Block Offshore Sarawak to MDC Oil, Petronas Carigali
[2010/02/15]
Petronas announced Feb. 15 that the company has  awarded a production-sharing contract (PSC) for block SK320 offshore Sarawak to MDC Oil, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi-owned Mubadala Development Company, and Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd. The block, measuring 5,786 square kilometers is located in the central part of the Sarawak basin in water depths ranging from 100 to 200 meters. Previous exploration efforts discovered a number of gas fields in the block, namely M5, Biji Sawi, and Daun Kari. Under the terms of the PSC, MDC Oil with participating interest of 75%, will operate block SK320. Petronas Carigali, the exploration and production arm of Petronas, will own the remaining 25% interest.

    The PSC commitments for block SK320 include the acquisition and processing of 2,000 line km of 2D seismic data, 1,000 sq km of new 3D seismic data and drilling of four wildcat wells to a minimum aggregate depth of 11,582 meters. The minimum financial commitment is estimated at US$79.75 million.

 
Novatek, Total Form JV for Termokarstovoye Field Development
[2010/02/08]
Novatek and Total may set up a joint venture (JV) to launch production at the Termokarstovoye gas condensate field, located on Russia's Yamal peninsula, soon, Wall Street Journal reported Feb. 8. The agreement forms a JV, where Total will take a 49% stake in Terneftegas LLC, a subsidiary of Novatek which holds the license for the field, while Novatek retains a 51% stake in the firm. The JV's work plan includes exploration and preparation of a field development plan. A final investment decision on the project is expected in 2011. Production at the field is expected to begin in 2015. The field contains 1.67 tcf of gas and 74 million barrels of condensate.
Gazprom Delays Shtokman Development
[2010/02/05]
Gazprom officials stated that the company has agreed with consortium partners Statoil and Total to delay development of the giant Shtokman gas field by three years due to major changes in global gas markets, Reuters reported Feb. 5. Gas production and export from Shtokman will now start in 2016, while LNG exports from the field will begin in 2017. Shtokman has proved gas reserves of 70.6 tcf.  
Bontan Targets Huge Gas Prospects Off Israel
[2010/02/02]
Bontan Corporation (Bontan) announced Feb. 2 the results of the evaluation report prepared by Chapman Petroleum Engineering Ltd. on two prospects located on the Mira and Sarah Drilling Licenses, Offshore Israel. For the Mira Prospect, the best estimate of gross prospective sales gas resources is 4.24 tcf and for the Sarah Prospect, the best estimate of gross prospective sales gas resources is 1.47 tcf.

Bontan will have an indirect 71.625% indirect interest in these prospects via its 75% equity interest in the Israel Petroleum Company which has acquired a 95.5% interest in the drilling licenses as well as an adjoining exploration permit from the current operator subject to approval by the Government of Israel. ... Read more

BHP Trinidad Moving from Oil to Gas Business
[2010/02/01]
BHP Billiton's (BHP) Trinidad & Tobago unit is transitioning from an oil-focused entity to an gas-focused one, as the company's oil production declines in the country, while their gas production steadily rises, Reuters reported Jan. 27, citing a statement by John Krome, BHP's vice president for Trinidad operations. In the last four years, BHP's oil production from the Angostura field has dropped to 14,870 b/d from 50,542 b/d. Krome estimates that the company will move into gas production as a majority of production in the country in 1Q 2011. BHP will have the capacity to produce 280 MMcf/d of gas, which will be supplied to the state-owned National Gas Company. The National Gas Company shall in turn market the gas to local petrochemical firms.