Kurdistan steps up efforts to eliminate gas flaring

The Kurdistan Ministry of Natural Resources ("MNR") has asked the Shaikan field partners (Gulf Keystone and MOL) to re-submit a revised FDP for the field to address additional MNR requests on gas management.

The next well planned on the field will now be used to assess the feasibility of gas reinjection into the Jurassic formation, rather than as an originally planned Jurassic production well.

Whilst a key driver to be reservoir management and ultimate recovery rates, it is noted that the MNR is keen to eliminate flaring in Kurdistan.

Gulf Keystone has previously stated that the elimination of gas flaring is the single most complex and expensive component of the field’s development, and additional gas-handling capacity would be required to handle the gas-rich light oil in the underlying Triassic reservoir.

At nearby DNO’s Tawke field, work is scheduled to begin later this year on building the gas-gathering and processing facilities to enable reinjection of Peshkabir’s associated gas into the Tawke field, to reduce flaring and increase the latter recoverable reserves; this gas-gathering and injection system is forecast to be operational in early 2020.

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Dry well in the Barents near Korpfjell

The 7335/3-1 exploration well on Production Licence 859 has drilled a dry well.

The partners on the licence are: Equinor 65% operator, Lundin 15%, DNO 20%.

The licence lies in the Barents Sea and the 7335/3-1 well is located c.8km southeast of the Korpfjell gas discovery.

Both the primary and secondary exploration targets encountered sandy and poor reservoirs. The well was drilled by the West Hercules drilling rig to 4,268m below the sea surface and water depth was 239m The well has not been permanently plugged and abandoned.

The West Hercules rig will now move to drill a wildcat well 7324/6-1 in PL855 in the Barents Sea.

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Woodside's Pluto LNG restart delayed

Source: RBC

Woodside's restart from its planned Pluto LNG turnaround will be delayed until the end of June after initial restart efforts were unsuccessful. Vibration in the refrigerant compressor has delayed restart.

In the interim, Woodside will be purchasing cargoes from the market to fulfill its contractual obligations. However Woodside are making a healthy margin of  c.USD5/mmbtu with the current lull in Asian spot LNG prices due to subdued summer demand.

Spot LNG prices are c.USD5/mmbtu and Woodside's contractual supplies have achieved c.USD10/mmbtu.

#LNG

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PGNiG acquires Total's 22.2% stake in King Lear

Total has sold its 22.2% stake in King Lear to PGNiG. This follows AkerBP's acquisition of Equinor's 77.8% stake in the field in October 2018 for USD250 million.

In October 2018, AkerBP noted that King Lear is one of the largest undeveloped discoveries in Norway and that it planned to develope the field as a satellite to Ula. Ula is operated by AkerBP (80% with DNO as 20% partner) and the tie-back will improve capacity utilisation at the Ula facilities. Importantly, King Lear will also provide signifcant gas volumes for injection into the Ula field for increased oil recovery. Net recoverable resources at King Lear is estimated at c.100mmboe and is gas weighted.

PGNiG notes that the development of the field is planned to commence in 2021 with first production in 2025.

The King Lear development has stalled since its initial discovery as it was originally expected to be part of the Greater Ekofisk Area project which would have seen King Leat, Tommeliten Alpha and Tor tie back to Ekofisk. However gas processing capacity constraints at Ekofisk meant the project was not sanctioned.

With PGNiG entry into King Lear, and also ownership of Tommeliten Alpha (acquired from Equinor in October 2018) could see the latter now being routed to King Lear.

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Hurricane reaches first oil and Lancaster

Hurricane has reached first oil at the Lancaster field. The Aoka Mizu FPSO completed the start-up phase with a 72-hour production test and combined production from the wells reached the targeted 20mbopd, marking the contractual completion of commissioning. Hurricane now expects to ramp up production over the next six months towards the longer-term ~85% operating efficiency target.

Production guidance is:

• c.9mbopd for the next three months; followed by 
• c.13mcopd for the subsequent three months;
• before reaching a sustained target of c17mbopd

This is another step forward in demonstrating the scale and deliverability of the fractured basement play in the UK North Sea on the Lancaster licence. However fractured basement plays are risky propositions and production could be short lived with water breakthrough at risk of occuring in short order. Therefore 12-24 months of production data is now crucial in order to fully understand the scale of the reservoir and importantly, sustainability of production.

Meanwhile drilling continues on the nearby Greater Warwick Area licence with partner Spirit Energy.

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Chevron-Anadarko: the overlooked jewel

As Chevron swallows up its USD50 billion acquisition of Anadarko, OGInsights turns its focus away form the heavily covered synergies in the Permian, DJ Basin and Gulf of Mexico, and towards its LNG portfolio as Chevron strives to join the ranks of the supermajors in LNG.

Chevron has a Australasia-centric LNG business, but Anadarko's 27% operated interest in Mozambique Area 1 now broadens the former's reach. The Mozambique position is a low cost, integrated LNG project in an ideal geography with reach into the European and Asian markets.

Area 1 is close to FID with c.9.5mtpa of its 12.88mtpa capacity already signed up. The stepping in of Chevron into Anadarko's shoes adds further weight behind the project. 

In February, it was noted that Anadarko had signed a 2.6mtpa LNG SPA with Tokyo Gas/Centrica
joint agreement with implicit destination flexibility which will help broaden Chevron's LNG marketing portfolio, although it is yet to fully launch its own trading portfolio like the Shells and Totals of this world.

The Area 1 LNG joint venture in Mozambique comprises Anadarko, Mitsui, ONGC, ENH (Mozambique NOC), Bharat PetroResources, PTTEP and Oil India. In addition to the Area 1 development, the Area 4 joint venture between Exxon and Eni is on track for sanctioning later in 2019.

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Saudi oil optics

The release of the March Official Selling Prices begins to illustrate Saudi Arabia's complex and calculated moves in the global oil markets.

After years of trying to figure out the market dynamics of the brave new world with US shale and testing market responses to various signals, it knows that cutting its own production is not the only thing that matters (not to mentioned damaging to its own market share).

In fact, targeting data points that are strongly followed by the markets is more important, even if the signals they give are only superficial.

In March, Saudi Arabia increased its Official Selling Prices, pricing out its usual Asian buyers despite a market that is awash with light crude. However this is important in paving the way for more visible Atlantic Basin crudes (North Sea and West African) to be cleared,

In the first quarter, EIA data also shows that Saudi Arabia exported no barrels to its Motiva refinery in Port Arthur, USA, helping to manage storage levels in the US Gulf Coast and Caribbean, data from which drive global price sentiment.

Over the same time period, Saudi domestic inventory levels appear to have been rising.

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