Circle Oil starts drilling SAH-W1 well in Sebou permit, Morocco

Circle Oil, reported the preliminary results of drilling of the well SAH-W1 in the Sebou Permit, onshore Morocco.

The well is located within the western central area of the Sebou Permit, about 3.2 km to the south west of the main gas gathering station. The well was spud on 19 May and drilled to a TD of 1,263 m MD. Gas shows were encountered at three levels within the target Guebbas sands, but seven inch casing had to be installed (due to mechanical problems) before drilling a six inch hole through the main target interval. The wireline logging confirmed the presence of three gas-bearing zones, and subsequent pressure testing in the six inch hole confirmed permeable high pressure reservoirs.

The rig has been released from this site before running the 4.5 inch liner as this is a non-standard size for drilling these wells and this is being sourced to test and complete the well for production in the future. The net pay from wireline log analysis is 6 m in the Top Guebbas, 6 m in the main target Intra Guebbas and 3 m in the lower part of the Intra Guebbas. The plan is to produce the three zones sequentially from the bottom up, where the highest pressure is present.

Further updates will be provided in due course.

Providing useful resources, articles and writings on crude oil, other petroleum products, energy and gas. By Mega Billion Corporation BLCO seller, Nigeria, online.

DNO falls for second day on fears Iraq tensions could spread north

DNO ASA, the Norwegian oil producer focused on northern Iraq, fell for a second day after Islamist insurgents seized several cities south of the Kurdistan region where it operates.

While no violence has been reported in the semi-autonomous region, the Oslo-based company fell as much as 5.7% and traded 0.5% lower at 22.19 kroner a share as of 2:01 p.m., extending losses to 6.4% over the last two days.

“When the unrest is at this level and terror groups are involved, the stock will never thrive,” analyst Teodor Sveen Nilsen of Swedbank First Securities said in a phone interview. “The unrest is 150 kilometers from DNO’s Tawke field and might as such not have a big impact, but investors have a lot of others stocks to choose from and will react negatively when faced with uncertainty.”

Militants

DNO, the first foreign oil company to drill in Iraq after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, got almost 80% of its production from the Kurdish region of the country’s north in the first quarter. The area is situated north of Mosul, Iraq’s second-biggest city, which was seized by militants of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant this week.

The violence has raised the prospect of a resurgence of sectarian conflict in Iraq, the second-biggest producer of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, as Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s Shiite-led government struggles to control Sunni-majority regions.

DNO spokesman Henrik Schwabe couldn’t immediately comment, he said in an email.

Swedbank downgraded DNO to neutral from buy on “increased political risk,” it said in a note yesterday, June 11. “It’s escalated more than I had thought,” Sveen Nilsen said today.

Providing useful resources, articles and writings on crude oil, other petroleum products, energy and gas. By Mega Billion Corporation BLCO seller, Nigeria, online.

GeoPark finds new oil field in Chile

GeoPark Limited has announced the discovery of a new oil field in Chile. The Primavera Sur 1 well marks the first discovery of an oil field on the newly-acquired Campanario Block in Tierra del Fuego, Chile. GeoPark operates and has a 50% working interest in the Campanario Block, in partnership with Empresa Nacional de Petroleo de Chile (ENAP).

GeoPark successfully drilled and completed the Primavera Sur 1 well to a total depth of 8,025 ft.  A test conducted in the Tobifera formation, at approximately 7,750 ft, resulted in a production rate of approximately 215 gross bopd of 39.9° API. Further production testing will be required to determine stabilized flow rates and the extent of the reservoir.

Surface facilities and infrastructure have already been put into place in order to produce and commercialize the produced crude oil from this well. Seismic interpretation of the Primavera Sur prospect indicates the opportunity for further development drilling following further testing.

James F. Park, CEO of GeoPark, said, "Our new discovery on the Campanario Block demonstrates the exploration and growth potential of our new Tierra del Fuego acreage, where  our team has identified over 30 new prospects and leads to be drilled on our Isla Norte, Campanario and Flamenco Blocks. The quick cycle time from drilling a well to selling production also reflects the attractive operations and economics of the region. We are pleased to be working with ENAP on these blocks and look forward to further results from our approximately $150 million work program in Chile in 2014."

Providing useful resources, articles and writings on crude oil, other petroleum products, energy and gas. By Mega Billion Corporation BLCO seller, Nigeria, online.

Genel’s Kurdistan oil production jumps after pipeline opens

Genel Energy Plc, the oil explorer headed by former BP Plc CEO Tony Hayward, said production jumped in June after Iraq’s Kurdistan region opened an export pipeline to Turkey.

Net production averaged 84,000 bpd in June compared with a 63,000 bpd rate for the whole of the first half, the company said in a statement.

The opening of the pipeline in May allowed the autonomous region to increase exports through Turkey, bypassing the central Iraqi network. While the government in Baghdad disputes Kurdistan’s right to sell oil directly, the regional administration has sold a cargo of oil at international prices and banked the proceeds in a Turkish bank, Genel said.

Kurdistan, which plans a referendum on independence from Iraq, has largely remained calm as Islamist militants fight the central government for control of large parts of the country. London-based Genel said its operations remain safe and secure.

Genel maintained a forecast for average output in 2014 of 60,000 to 70,000 bpd and said revenue would be $500 million to $600 million.

The pipeline will allow Kurdistan to raise exports to 200,000 to 250,000 bpd this month from 125,000 bbl early last month, Ashti Hawrami, the regional natural resources minister, said on June 18. Daily shipments may increase to 400,000 bbl by the end of the year, he said.

Iraq, excluding the Kurdish region, holds 150 billion bbl of proven crude reserves in the world’s fifth-biggest deposits. The Kurdistan regional government controls 45 billion bbl and has attracted international oil companies including Genel, Exxon Mobil Corp. and Total SA with financial terms many see as more generous than those in the rest of the country.

Genel fell 0.8% to 1,015 pence by 8:31 a.m. in London. The company said today, July 3, an exploration well off Malta was plugged and abandoned without discovering oil and gas.

Providing useful resources, articles and writings on crude oil, other petroleum products, energy and gas. By Mega Billion Corporation BLCO seller, Nigeria, online.

Planned LNG import terminal for Indonesia: GDF SUEZ continues its international development of gas infrastructures

GDF SUEZ has recently signed a new cooperation agreement protocol with Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN), the principal Indonesian operator in the field of natural gas distribution and transportation. The agreement relates to a feasibility study for an onshore LNG terminal in northern Java. This agreement is the result of a collaboration between the Energy International business line and the Infrastructures Branch.
 
On signing the agreement, Jean-Claude Depail, EVP, in charge of Infrastructures business line for GDF SUEZ, declared that "This new agreement represents a significant milestone in developing gas infrastructure projects in Indonesia as part of a long-term strategic partnership with PGN. This partnership is an important new example of the Group' s development strategy for international gas infrastructures that will facilitate access to energy supplies for countries experiencing rapid growth."
 
Experience acquired by the GDF SUEZ Group in managing gas infrastructures has been the foundation for such cooperation agreements. PGN will benefit from technical assistance from the different units of the GDF SUEZ Infrastructures business line, particularly in terms of optimising network operations and maintenance and facilitating the commissioning of the new LNG terminal.

The current agreement follows a prior agreement signed in February 2014, which also includes plans for cooperation in training PGN employees in the field of gas technologies, both in France and Indonesia.

Providing useful resources, articles and writings on crude oil, other petroleum products, energy and gas. By Mega Billion Corporation BLCO seller, Nigeria, online.

C&J Energy forms fifth-largest fracturing fleet with $2.86 bn Nabors deal

Nabors Industries has signed a definitive agreement to combine its completion and production services businesses in the U.S. and Canada with C&J Energy Services, Inc.

The transaction will roughly triple the C&J stimulation fleet, which should then rank as the fifth-largest fleet in North America. The combined company will also operate the largest fluids management fleet and the second-largest workover/well-servicing fleet in North America. In addition, prospects for international expansion should be enhanced through a global alliance agreement with Nabors.

Following the completion of this transaction, Nabors will own approximately 53% percent of the combined company, which will be incorporated in Bermuda and listed on the NYSE as C&J Energy Services Ltd. In addition to the 62.54 million shares of the combined company, Nabors will also receive approximately $937 million cash, to be paid from proceeds of a public debt placement by the combined company.

The new C&J Energy Services Ltd. will be managed by the current C&J Energy Services management team, supplemented by Nabors' completion and production services workforce.

Providing useful resources, articles and writings on crude oil, other petroleum products, energy and gas. By Mega Billion Corporation BLCO seller, Nigeria, online.