UPSTREAM REVIEW

• Date: 01 November 2013
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/oet.12114
• Published date: 01 November 2013

UPSTREAM REVIEW

Africa

Libya: A group led by Repsol has made a new ‘‘high-

quality’’ light oil discovery (40◦API gravity) in the

Murzuq basin in the Sahara desert, 800 km (497 mi)

south of Tripoli.

The discovery on the 4,400 km2(1,699 mi2)NC

115 block came despite recent unrest in the country,

which seriously affected the oil industry for several

months.

The A1-129/02 discovery well was drilled to a depth

of 1,836 m (6,024 ft). The well is the third of eight

that the company will drill on the block as part of a

new exploratory campaign which will continue through

2015.

Repsol operates NC 115 with a 40% stake. Austria’s

OMV and France’s Total each have a 30% share.

Angola: Cobalt International Energy announced two

more discoveries at its pre-salt play offshore Angola.

Cobalt stated that drilling and evaluation results on

the Lontra-1 well in block 20 in the Kwanza basin had

confirmed an oil and gas discovery. In addition, the

company stated that its operated Mavinga-1 exploratory

well in block 21, located approximately 12.5 km (8 mi)

northwest of the 2012 Cameia discovery, struck around

30 m (100 ft) of net oil pay. Work still needs to be done

to assess the potential of the wells.

The two finds follow two other discoveries by Cobalt

in Angola’s pre-salt in recent years. ‘‘It’s clear that each

of Cobalt’s four wells to date has been successful in

finding and delineating new hydrocarbon resources in

the Angolan Pre-salt,’’ said Joseph H. Bryant, Cobalt’s

Chairman and CEO. ‘‘This is a remarkable and highly

unusual start to the exploration of such an immense

new basin.’’

Cobalt’s partners in block 20 include state-owned

Sonangol and BP. Partners in block 21 include Sonangol,

Nazaki Oil and Gaz, and Alper Limitada.

Algeria: Algeria’s Sonatrach has made a new oilfield

discovery containing an estimated 1.3 bn bbl oil state

news agency APS reported.

Algeria’s energy minister, Youcef Yousfi, told APS

that the discovery, which is located 112 km (70 mi) from

Algeria’s largest oil-field, the Hassi Messaoud, is one of

the most important in the past 20 years.

Yousfi added that state oil company, Sonatrach, will

rely on unconventional techniques, including fracking,

to extract the reserves from the new field.

Asia Pacific

Kurdistan: US company Marathon Oil and France’s Total

have discovered ‘‘significant resources’’ of high-quality

oil and gas in the company’s operated Harir block in the

Kurdistan region of Iraq.

The Mirawa-1 exploration well was drilled to

approximately 4,267 m (14,000 ft). The well encountered

multiple stacked oil and natural gas producing zones

from 1,768 m (5,800) ft to total depth and flowed oil of

39◦-45◦API gravity at a rate of 11,000 bpd.

Additionally, multiple non-associated gas zones

flowed at rates totalling approximately 72 mcfd,

together with associated condensate from one zone at

a rate of 1,700 bpd.

‘‘The success we and others have had in the Kurdistan

Region of Iraq, including this most recent discovery,

demonstrates the importance of this region as a potential

major hydrocarbon producer,’’ said Marathon Oil

president and CEO Lee Tillman.

Marathon Oil, through its wholly owned subsidiary

Marathon Oil KDV B.V, is the operator with a 45%

working interest in the Harir block. Total holds a

35% working interest, and the Kurdistan Regional

Government holds a 20% carried interest.

China: China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC)

has made a ‘‘mid-sized’’ new heavy oil discovery in the

Bohai Bay offshore China.

The Luda 5-2 North find is located in the Liaodong

Bay area of Bohai Gulf in an average water depth of 31

m. The company reported that the discovery was made

with the Luda 5-2N-2 and LD 5-2N-4 discovery wells,

which were both drilled and completed at a depth of

around 1,140 m (3,740 ft) and encountered oil pay zones

with total thickness of 120 m (394 ft) and 85 m (279 ft),

respectively.

CNOOC stated that the Luda 5-2 North discovery

‘‘demonstrates the company’s successful experience

in the thermal recovery technology of heavy oil and

creates a new methodology to commercialize heavy oil

reserves.’’

CIS

Ukraine: The Ukrainian government has approved a

US $10 billion production-sharing agreement (PSA)

with Chevron to allow the US energy major to explore

huge shale deposits in the Olesska field in the west of

the country, estimated to contain 2.98 tcm of shale

gas.

Olesska is expected to produce between 8 and 10 bcm

of gas annually, according to the government.

Ukraine is almost entirely dependent on gas imports

from Russia. Shale exploration forms part of the

country’s plans to reduce these imports and become

more self-sufficient.

The Olesska PSA with Chevron is the second shale

agreement in Ukraine, following the one signed earlier

this year with Royal Dutch Shell for exploration in

Yuzivska in the east of the country.

©2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd