News from the North Sea from Bridge Energy, Faroe Petroleum, Lundin Petroleum and E.ON.
Transocean Arctic will drill the Amol prospect (Image: Petroleum Safety Authority of Norway)Bridge Energy
Junior North Sea explorer Bridge Energy has said it is lining up two fully funded exploration wells for 2013 after a successful drilling campaign in 2012.
The Aberdeen-based firm said its first well this year is expected to start in the third quarter on the PL511 Norwegian Sea Mjøsa prospect, operated by Wintershall (Bridge 7.5%). Drilling on Mjøsa had originally been planned for last year.
In the fourth quarter, drilling is expected to start on the exploration well, targeting the Amol prospect.
The firm is also in discussions with operator on Total on plans to drill on PL554 & PL554B Garantiana in 2014 and a rig has been committed to drill on the PL494 Hercules prospect in the second quarter of 2014.
Bridge, announcing its 2012 quarter four results, said it would also continue to be active within both the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) and UKCS farm‐in markets.
It said 2012 saw it add 20mmboe of reserves through three successful wells out of four in the fourth quarter, shortly after the firm’s listing on the London AIM.
These were the Contender oil discovery (UK North Sea, Bridge 4%), renamed Contender East and now on production as a tie-back over Taqa’s Cormorant platform, the Garantiana oil discovery (Norwegian North Sea, Bridge 20%) and Asha (also Norwegian North Sea, Bridge 20%), also an oil discovery.
Bridge Energy’s average production for the fourth quarter was 863 boe/d (Q4 2011: 1,050 boe/d) from the Victoria, Duart and Boa fields.
Work was ongoing on infill drilling opportunities on Boa (Bridge 1.55%), potential development work on the Duart South discovery and Duart East prospect (Bridge 50%) and Bridge is seeking a farm–in partner on the Vulcan East, Vulcan North West and Vulcan South licences.
Tom Reynolds, chief executive of Bridge Energy, said: “I am pleased to announce the Q4 2012 trading update for Bridge, a period which has been transformational for the business. Following our listing on AIM in London in September 2012, we have had significant success with the drill bit; drilling three discoveries from four exploration wells.”
Faroe Petroleum
Faroe Petroleum has acquired a 25% interest in the Pil prospect in the Norwegian Sea and a 50% interest in the Lowlander discovery in the UK Central North Sea.
Pil, Licence PL586, is within tie-back distance (33 km) to the producing Njord field (Faroe holds 7.5% interest) operated by VNG, who sold the stake to Pil. An exploration well is expected to be drilled on Pil in the first half of 2014 using the Transocean Arctic drilling rig.
The 50% in Lowlander was acquired from Talisman Sinopec energy UK. Discovered in 1987 by the 14/20b-17 well (drilled by Texaco) it is in the central North Sea. It is about 16km from the Parkmead operated Perth Field (Faroe 34.62%). A work programme will include a joint Perth/Lowlander development study, said Faroe.
Faroe’s next exploration well is the Darwin frontier well, its first in Norwegian waters of the Barents Sea. Faroe is still waiting results from the west of Shetland North Uist well, being drilled by BP and sizing up to be the most expensive well ever drilling in the UKCS.
Lundin Petroleum
Lundin Petroleum said its exploration well 8/5-1 on the Ogna prospect in the southern part of the Norwegian North Sea is being plugged and abandoned as a dry hole. Lundin said the well 8/5-1 reached target depth at about 2340 metres but that the primary reservoir, of Jurassic age, showed poor reservoir quality.
E.ON
Explora Petroleum has agreed a deal with E.ON E&P Norge to acquire a 20% stake in PL 484 in the Norwegian Sea. E.ON Norge will retain a 10% interest with the other partners being Noreco Norway (operator, 40%) and Dana Petroleum Norway (30%).
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