Oda to Joy!

On 30th November, Centrica announced that it had submitted the Plan for Development and Operation (PDO) for the Oda field to the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy. Oda, previously called Butch, is owned by the following partners: Centrica (40% operator) Suncor (30%) Aker BP (15%) Faroe (15%) Oda is an oil field, discovered in 2011 and lies in the Norwegian North Sea. The field will be developed as a subsea tie-back to the Ula patform,...

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Siccar Point is building up its business

OGInsights recently caught up with the Siccar Point team following its successful acquisition of the OMV North Sea business, which includes an 11.8% stake in the flagship Schiehallion oil field. Together with the acquisition of a stake in the Mariner field earlier this year, Siccar Point has now built up a North Sea business of relevant scale. Siccar Point is a North Sea focussed E&P, with financial backing from Blackstone, Blue Water Energy...

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Not so Stella

Following Ithaca’s recent update on Stella, it has now announced that there will be a short delay to first production with the operation coming on stream in January. The offshore commissioning of the FPF-1 platform is well advanced and continues. However during routine inspections, faults were found on a number of electrical junction boxes on the vessels processing facilities. Repairs are now underway but this will delay field start up. The repair costs are expected to be immaterial....

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Near-term appraisal for FAR

FAR has announced that the partners of the SNE field have contracted the Stena DrillMax for a minimum two well programme starting in Q2 2017. The ship is currently in the Canary Islands and ready to be deployed with crew assembled. The two firm wells, SNE-5 and SNE-6, will target the upper reservoir units and will include drill stem testing and likely an interference test between SNE-3 and SNE-5. The programme aims to firm up the resource base to help scope and refine the field development plan. It is noted that the new rig has been contracted...

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Eland's OML40 ready to ramp up

Eland this morning reported impressive test results from the Opuama-3 well on OML 40. The Long and Short Strings tested at 5,955bopd and 5,067bopd, respectively, and no water. Management now expects Opuama-3 and Opuama-1 to generate gross output to ~14,500bopd. Unfortunately, OML 40 remains shut in as a result of interruptions to third party export facilities. In light of these export issues, the company intends to accelerate plans to barge crude,...

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Canacol: Second pipeline to double export capacity

Canacol has executed a major agreement with Promigas to expand the gas transmission network from Jobo to the Colombian coast by constructing a second pipeline. The project will be fully funded by Promigas and expected to commence by the end of this year. Permitting is planned to take up to 18 months with construction taking 6 months - the pipeline should be commissioned in 2018/19. The pipeline will more than double Canacol's capacity from 90mmcfpd to 190mmcfpd. Gas supply contracts have been secured for this additional capacity and the company...

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BP: Adapting to the times - Where were they now? (Part 2)

The OGInsights team recently met with the BP corporate strategy department to discuss how the strategic direction of the company has changed since the collapse in oil prices. In this two part entry, we look at where BP were a year ago and where they are now in terms of strategic thinking. Part 2: Where are they now? With oil prices appearing to stay lower for longer, BP’s priorities have changed and all large M&A is on hold. Focus is on cost cutting, targeting breakeven of USD 50-55/bbl over the next year and farming down high working interests...

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Stella progress

‎Ithaca has reported that the Stella field is expected to come onstream at the end of November. Production will commence initially from one well, before bringing the remaining four wells online soon after which will ramp up production to plateau by year end. The vessel hook-up is well advanced and tanker trials have now been completed.‎ The 44km spurline connecting the field to the Norpipe system was also successfully installed with switching...

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One day in November: A Colombian visit to the UK

At the beginning of November, President Manuel Santos and his delegation from Colombia were in the UK on an official state visit. The Wednesday of that week was dedicated to showcasing Colombia’s oil & gas industry with senior members from the industry presenting in London. The next day, the delegation continued their tour in Aberdeen to build ties with the historic oil & gas city. OGInsights attended the event and had an opportunity...

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BP: Adapting to the times - Where were they then? (Part 1)

The OGInsights team recently met with the BP corporate strategy department to discuss how the strategic direction of the company has changed since the collapse in oil prices. In this two part entry, we look at where BP were a year ago and where they are now in terms of strategic thinking. Part 1: Where were they then? At the beginning of 2015, BP already began planning for a "lower for longer" scenario, however growth was still very much top of mind. Reserve replacement was a key challenge to the company's longer term existence and the USD2 billion...

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