Drilling continues at Statoil's Martin prospect in Mississippi Canyon Block 718 with the Maersk Developer semisubmersible, in 850m (2789ft) water depth.
Statoil plans to run a zero-offset vertical seismic profile (VSP) survey on or before 15 August 2014. It will deploy an air gun array 15ft below the water surface, and estimates it will take no longer than 24hr for the operation.
The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) issued a Site-Specific Environmental Assessment (SEA) for the proposed VSP on 20 May 2014, and "Finding of no significant impact" (FONSI) on marine mammals, sea turtles, and fish.
Statoil filed its initial exploration and development plan for four well sites (A,B,C,D) on Lease OCS-G34456, with BOEM on 20 May 2013, and amended it seven times through 6 September, until it was approved on 30 October 2013.
Statoil spud the Martin prospect on 20 April 2014. The wellsite is about 218 mi (351 km) from the Louisiana coast. The well will be drilled to 31,400ft TD, targeting Miocene, according to Veronica Roa, Statoil's vice president of land and early stage projects-development and production for North America. Roa spoke at an OTC breakfast on 7 May: "Statoil's North America Growth Strategy, Learning, and Promises."
"It's our top prospect from a value and volume standpoint. We look forward to getting results this year," she said.
Block history
Statoil Gulf of Mexico LLC paid US$157,111,000 for the block; it was the single highest bid in 2012 Central Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 216/222, in June 2012. It was one of 26 successful high bids for Statoil, which spent $333,259,056 at the sale.
The company has become one of the largest lease holders in deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GoM), managed out of its Houston office, which was established in 2002.
Statoil has a seven year lease on MC718 that will expire in 2019, unless held by production.
The block has passed through other owners; Shell acquired it in 1985; Apache drilled in 1995 and discovered gas at the Pluto field in 2830ft water depth; Mariner Energy acquired 51% interest in Pluto in 1997 (production was established in the northern extension of the field in adjacent Block 674, 2828ft water depth, in 1999, and tied into the Mars oil pipeline; see map). BP next drilled MC 718 in 2003 and 2004 with partners BHP and Chevron. Houston-based W&T Offshore planned to start production from Pluto in September 2005, but it was delayed due to damage to the South Pass Block 89 platform from Hurricane Katrina. Pluto was eventually brought on production (40 to 50 MMCFEPD expected peak rate).
Read more:
OTC14: Statoil starts GOM campaign, 7 May 2014
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