In
baseball parlance, 2003 was a year where singles and doubles added
up to make a winner — even though the fans were wanting to see
towering home runs.
The year
"did not produce much in the way of large and exciting new finds
that were not anticipated," said IHS senior editor Ken White, but
it was nevertheless a good year for the industry with success rates
averaging over 40 percent.
While drilling
levels are down, White said the success rate indicates operators
are being more selective in the prospects they drill, and that greater
resources, particularly 3D seismic, continue to be employed.
Another
feature that appears to be encouraging, White continued, is discoveries
in established areas.
"In particular,"
he said, "the finds in Poland and the Cooper Basin in Australia,
— the latter, although small by world standards, represents a major
company making success for the minnows involved."
Another
feature of 2003, according to White, appears to have been deals
— or, in some cases, the lack of them.
"On the
one hand we had the $US 6.75 billion deal between BP and Tyumen
Oil, and Sidanco and Devon acquiring Ocean Energy for $US 5.3 billion,"
he said. "The failed deals included the much publicized $US 13 billion
tie up between Yukos and Sibneft and, of course, the $US 25 billion
Saudi Gas Initiative that comprised three projects and which had
been under discussion since 1998."
IHS Energy's
Global E&P Reporting Service, whose editors cover E&P activity
in more than 200 countries, provided information on major discoveries
of 2003. That list includes:
AFRICA
Angola
Some 10
deepwater discoveries were made off Angola in 2003. One of the more
important is the Total-operated Gindingo 1, the company's first
strike in ultra-deepwater Block 32. The well tested 7,400 b/d and
5,700 b/d of light oil from two separate zones. It is located in
1,445 meters of water and the structure could straddle the limit
between Block 32 and Block 16 operated by CNR.
Nigeria
In October
the Nsiko 1 wildcat in deepwater block OPL 249, operated by ChevronTexaco,
was confirmed as an oil discovery. It reportedly encountered a substantial
amount of net hydrocarbon pay in multiple zones, one of which was
tested and flowed 6,500 b/d of high quality crude. Pre-drill reserve
estimates were in excess of 300 mmbo.
AUSTRALIA
BHP-Billiton
operated three Carnarvon Basin oil strikes in 2003, having combined
recoverable reserves in excess of 120 mmb. These were:
Crosby 1 in permit WA-12-R, which encountered a gross oil column
of 34.7 meters with 29.4 meters of net pay and in place reserves
of 100 mmb.
In WA-155-P Ravensworth 1 established 43.5 meters of net pay in
the Lower Barrow Group, to which recoverable reserves of 50 mmb
have been assigned.
The smallest of the three, Skiddaw in WA-255-P, has recoverable
reserves of 35.5 mmb and already has been appraised by one well.
LATIN
AMERICA
Brazil
Petrobras
had a banner year, making a 14.8 tcf discovery in the BS-400 Block
in the Santos Basin. The 4-SPS-035 discovery and 1-SPS-37A could
conceivably change Brazil's natural gas strategy. The company also
appears to have discovered long-sought-after crude oil both in the
Sergipe/Alagoas Basin and Espirito Santo Basin. In the former, the
1-SES-147 discovery on SEAL 100 Block reportedly found 150 mmb of
42 degree oil. In the BES-100 Block in the Espirito Santo, the 1-ESS-123
reportedly found 450 mmbo of 40 degree oil.
Petrobras
also has found another 2.95 billion barrels of heavy in the Campos
Basin, including 950 million barrels in the Jubarte and Cachalote
fields and 150 million barrels in the Marlim Leste Field.
And although
Brazil has not proved very friendly to outsiders, El Paso did make
a gas discovery close to infrastructure in the Santos Basin that
caused the company to reconsider pulling out of Brazil: the 1-ELPS-14B-SPS
in BS-001 Block.
Trinidad
In October,
it was confirmed that the BHP-Billiton-operated Howler 1 wildcat
was a gas and condensate discovery. It is an important Upper Cretaceous
find, as this reservoir unit has not been a significant producer
in Trinidad & Tobago. Local sources indicate BHP-Billiton tested
18 mmcfg/d and 137 bc/d from the Upper Cretaceous Naparima Hill
Formation.
Venezuela
In November,
PDVSA completed the Tacata 2X wildcat in the Maturin sub-basin as
an oil and gas discovery after conducting extensive tests on the
Capaya and Carapita formations. Venezuelan vice minister of hydrocarbon
and PDVSA's director Luis Vierma, stated that the Tacata 2X well
is a major oil and gas discovery, and is estimated to contain 236
mmb of light and medium oil and up to 3 tcf of gas
FAR
EAST
China
The country
had a particularly good year, reporting nearly 40 potentially commercial
discoveries in a number of basins both onshore and off. Three of
the more recent completions have resulted in significant reserve
additions. Huo 10, with 700 mmb oil in place, is described as a
major breakthrough in the foreland belt along the southern margin
of the onshore Junggar Basin. Maoba 1 in the onshore Sichuan Basin
is deemed to have established reserves of 1.1 tcf of gas, and appraisal
wells 2 and 3 are believed under way. Also in the onshore Sichuan
Basin is Puguang 1, a deep test that was spudded in 2001. Drilled
to a total depth of 5,700 meters, the well has tapped a structure
with reserves possibly in excess of 3 tcf of gas.
Three appraisal
wells are mooted, one of which is believed to have spudded.
India
The most
significant well was the Dhirubhai (D6-D 1) discovery in April,
which followed on from the previous Dhirubhai discoveries (1 to
4) in 2002. This further extended the Dhirubhai structures, and
confirmed them as the biggest gas discovery in India for almost
three decades. Latest revised figures suggest gross in-place reserves
of 8.6 tcf. The eighth well drilled on the Reliance Industry KG-DWN-98/3
block, D6-D 1 is believed to have encountered in excess of 100 meters
of net gas pay.
Indonesia
In April
Unocal abandoned its Ranggas Selatan 1 wildcat in the Makassar Strait
Rapak PSC as an oil and gas discovery. In June Unocal abandoned
its Gehem 1 wildcat in the Makassar Strait Ganal PSC as an oil and
gas discovery. It encountered 188 meters net gas and condensate
pay and five meters net oil pay. Gehem 1 is located about midway
between the Ranggas oil and gas discovery 10 kilometers to the northwest
in the adjacent Rapak PSC and the Gada gas discovery 10 kilometers
to the southeast.
The strikes
extend Unocal's deepwater success there.
EURASIA
Kazakhstan
In November
the Agip KCO consortium tested 1,550 bo/d at Aktote 1 (AK 1) wildcat
and also confirmed that exploration well Kashagan SW 1 (KSW 1) tested
2,100 bo/d on a 32/64-inch choke from a Carboniferous interval.
Both wells will impact on the reserves base offshore Kazakhstan,
where the Agip KCO is developing the nine-billion-barrel Kashagan
discovery.
Russia
While the
vast majority of drilling remains onshore, Russia made two important
offshore discoveries. In the Caspian Sea, Lukoil recorded its fourth
consecutive strike in the Severniy license with the Sarmatskaya
1 wildcat, which tested oil and gas from three Jurassic intervals.
Pre-drill reserve estimates were 879 mmboe. Forming part of Gazprom's
drive to increase gas reserves off the Yamal Peninsula, its Gasflot
subsidiary tested 13.7 mmcfg/d from Cenomanian reservoirs in the
Obskaya 1 well. Reserves are estimated at 1.7 tcf.
EUROPE
Norway
Marathon
announced in April that it had discovered a 47-meter gross oil column
in the Heimdal Formation 25/4-7 (Kneler) exploration well. The well
was the first of three designed to evaluate the West Heimdal area.
Poland
2003 may
prove to be a landmark year for PGNG, as in its Gorzow Wielkopolski-Miedzychod
69/98/p license it confirmed two further discoveries in an accumulation
that has estimated in-place reserves of 730-1,100 mmb with 20-50
percent recoverable. The two new finds were Grotow 1 and Lubiatow
1 — the latter establishing an oil column of 53 meters, approximately
the entire thickness of the dolomite section.