Ithaca Farms Out Beverley License to Shell

UK junior Ithaca Energy reported Monday that it is farming out to Royal Dutch Shell half of its 40-percent interest in UK license P1792, including blocks 21/30f and 22/26c (which cover the Beverley prospect), in the central North Sea.

Ithaca said the farm-out is in exchange for Shell's partial carry of Ithaca's 20-percent share of the costs of a well on the Beverley prospect. The well is required to be drilling by early 2015, according to the license terms.

As well as the Beverley prospect, the P1792 license contains the Belinda and Evelyn discoveries.

Ithaca also confirmed that an appraisal well on the Norvarg discovery, located in production license 535 in the Norwegian sector of the Barents Sea, has begun drilling. The well, operated by Total E&P Norge, is aimed at proving up the volume potential in the northeastern segment of the Norvarg closure. Drilling operations are expected to last 70 days.

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Statoil Proves New Resources on its Gullfaks License

Norway's Statoil reported Friday that it has proven significant additional resources within the Shetland Group/Lista Formation in its Gullfaks license in the Norwegian North Sea.

Statoil said that preliminary calculations indicate that the discovery contains between 40 million and 150 million recoverable barrels of oil equivalent. However, the company cautioned that this resource estimate involves a "high degree" of uncertainty and that data gathering and studies are currently ongoing to clarify the potential and further development of the resources.

Production well 34/10-A-8 on the Gullfaks A platform, where the well test is being carried out, is currently producing at a rate of 7,500 barrels per day, the firm added. The well has produced nearly one million barrels since December 2012.

"The discovery provides new volumes that can give high-value production in a short time as well as new and promising perspectives for the field and the installations," Øystein Michelsen, Statoil's executive vice president for Development and Production Norway, commented in a company statement.

"This is a result of Statoil's strategy for revitalization of the Norwegian continental shelf."

Located in the Tampen area in the northern North Sea, Gullfaks came on stream Dec. 22 1986. The field development consists of three permanent installations, which have produced more than 2.4 billion barrels of oil and more than 56 billion cubic meters of gas.

Statoil, the operator, holds a 70-percent interest in the Gullfaks field, while its partner Petoro holds 30 percent.

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Statoil Proves New Resources on its Gullfaks License

Norway's Statoil reported Friday that it has proven significant additional resources within the Shetland Group/Lista Formation in its Gullfaks license in the Norwegian North Sea.

Statoil said that preliminary calculations indicate that the discovery contains between 40 million and 150 million recoverable barrels of oil equivalent. However, the company cautioned that this resource estimate involves a "high degree" of uncertainty and that data gathering and studies are currently ongoing to clarify the potential and further development of the resources.

Production well 34/10-A-8 on the Gullfaks A platform, where the well test is being carried out, is currently producing at a rate of 7,500 barrels per day, the firm added. The well has produced nearly one million barrels since December 2012.

"The discovery provides new volumes that can give high-value production in a short time as well as new and promising perspectives for the field and the installations," Øystein Michelsen, Statoil's executive vice president for Development and Production Norway, commented in a company statement.

"This is a result of Statoil's strategy for revitalization of the Norwegian continental shelf."

Located in the Tampen area in the northern North Sea, Gullfaks came on stream Dec. 22 1986. The field development consists of three permanent installations, which have produced more than 2.4 billion barrels of oil and more than 56 billion cubic meters of gas.

Statoil, the operator, holds a 70-percent interest in the Gullfaks field, while its partner Petoro holds 30 percent.

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Antrim Farms out License to Kosmos

Canada's Antrim Energy announced Thursday lunchtime (UK time) that it has farmed out 75-percent of Licensing Option 11/05 in the Porcupine Basin, offshore Ireland, to independent oil firm Kosmos Energy.

In return for its 75-percent stake, Kosmos will carry the full costs of a planned 3D seismic program within the license area and reimburse Antrim a portion of its exploration costs incurred on the blocks to date.

The license lies adjacent to the Skellig Block, which contains the Dunquin North and South prospects that have been estimated by license partners Providence Resources and Sosina Exploration to potentially contain recoverable hydrocarbons in excess of 1.7 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

Kosmos is the oil company that discovered the Jubilee field offshore Ghana, which currently produces around 110,000 barrels of oil per day. Thursday saw the firm involved in another deal offshore Ireland, when it agreed to farm into 85 percent of two licenses held by Europa Oil & Gas, also in the Porcupine Basin.

Antrim CEO Stephen Greer commented in a company statement:

"Antrim is very pleased to have attracted a partner to this licence, and especially a proven player in the discovery and development of the world class deep sea Cretaceous West African oil fields."

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Antrim Farms out License to Kosmos

Canada's Antrim Energy announced Thursday lunchtime (UK time) that it has farmed out 75-percent of Licensing Option 11/05 in the Porcupine Basin, offshore Ireland, to independent oil firm Kosmos Energy.

In return for its 75-percent stake, Kosmos will carry the full costs of a planned 3D seismic program within the license area and reimburse Antrim a portion of its exploration costs incurred on the blocks to date.

The license lies adjacent to the Skellig Block, which contains the Dunquin North and South prospects that have been estimated by license partners Providence Resources and Sosina Exploration to potentially contain recoverable hydrocarbons in excess of 1.7 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

Kosmos is the oil company that discovered the Jubilee field offshore Ghana, which currently produces around 110,000 barrels of oil per day. Thursday saw the firm involved in another deal offshore Ireland, when it agreed to farm into 85 percent of two licenses held by Europa Oil & Gas, also in the Porcupine Basin.

Antrim CEO Stephen Greer commented in a company statement:

"Antrim is very pleased to have attracted a partner to this licence, and especially a proven player in the discovery and development of the world class deep sea Cretaceous West African oil fields."

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Antrim Farms out License to Kosmos

Canada's Antrim Energy announced Thursday lunchtime (UK time) that it has farmed out 75-percent of Licensing Option 11/05 in the Porcupine Basin, offshore Ireland, to independent oil firm Kosmos Energy.

In return for its 75-percent stake, Kosmos will carry the full costs of a planned 3D seismic program within the license area and reimburse Antrim a portion of its exploration costs incurred on the blocks to date.

The license lies adjacent to the Skellig Block, which contains the Dunquin North and South prospects that have been estimated by license partners Providence Resources and Sosina Exploration to potentially contain recoverable hydrocarbons in excess of 1.7 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

Kosmos is the oil company that discovered the Jubilee field offshore Ghana, which currently produces around 110,000 barrels of oil per day. Thursday saw the firm involved in another deal offshore Ireland, when it agreed to farm into 85 percent of two licenses held by Europa Oil & Gas, also in the Porcupine Basin.

Antrim CEO Stephen Greer commented in a company statement:

"Antrim is very pleased to have attracted a partner to this licence, and especially a proven player in the discovery and development of the world class deep sea Cretaceous West African oil fields."

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Brazil's ANP: 71 Firms Show Interest in Oil Exploration License Auction

RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazil's National Petroleum Agency, or ANP, said Thursday that 71 companies had submitted paperwork to qualify for an auction of new licenses to explore for oil and natural gas that's set for May 14-15.

The fresh round of bidding is expected to generate a surge in activity across Brazil's oil industry, which was running out of areas to explore in the absence of concession auctions. Oil companies had warned that exploration could dry up as early as 2015 without new sales of exploration acreage.

Many of the world's largest oil companies from 18 different countries submitted documents by the ANP's deadline, including Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp. and BP PLC, the regulator said. Nineteen Brazilian firms dominated the list, including state-run energy giant Petroleo Brasileiro SA, or Petrobras, entrepreneur Eike Batista's OGX Petroleo e Gas Participacoes, and startup HRT Participacoes em Petroleo.

The ANP will now decide which of the 71 companies presented the correct documentation to qualify for the auction, a process that could take several weeks, an ANP spokesman said. The next deadline companies face is April 26, when financial guarantees for potential bids must be submitted to the regulator.

The ANP had published a preliminary list on March 26 with 60 companies on the list.

The 11th bidding round will put 289 oil and natural gas exploration blocks up for sale on May 14-15, Brazil's first such concession auction since December 2008. The auction is the first of several sales of exploration acreage set to take place in Brazil this year, including the first sale of subsalt exploration acreage under new production-sharing agreements.

Billions of barrels of oil have been discovered in the subsalt region, where oil and natural gas were found trapped deep beneath the ocean floor under a thick layer of salt. Unconventional oil and natural gas concessions, the same type of shale and tight gas acreage that sparked an oil-industry revolution in the U.S., are also expected to be sold this year.

Copyright (c) 2013 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

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Egdon Awarded North Sea License

UK-focused Egdon Resources reported Thursday that it has been awarded a license for North Sea blocks 41/18 and 41/19 off the North Yorkshire coast by the Department of Energy & Climate Change. The licence was awarded as a result of 26th UK Seaward Licensing Round and Egdon will hold a 100-percent interest as well as operatorship.

Egdon estimates potential for the drilled structure that already exists in the license area, the 41/18-1 well (drilled by Total in 1966), to contain substantial prospective resources in the range of between 40 and 272 billion cubic feet of gas.

Egdon intends to re-evaluate this gas discovery through a work program that will include the acquisition, reprocessing and interpretation of existing 2D seismic data over the blocks together with detailed analysis of the previous well results and regional geological evaluation. Egdon said that it would seek to drill a well from an onshore location to appraise the discovery made by the original 1966 well.

Egdon Managing Director Mark Abbot commented in a company statement:

"We are delighted to have been awarded this 26th Round license over these high potential blocks in one of our focus areas. We believe that our proposed approach of appraising and potentially developing this prospect via an onshore to offshore well could unlock the value in one of the earliest North Sea gas discoveries and we look forward to commencing our detailed technical evaluation."

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Statoil Farms Out Mozambique License

Norwegian oil major Statoil announced Tuesday that it has farmed down a 25-percent working interest in its exploration license offshore Mozambique to Japan's Inpex Corporation.

The license, which consists of two blocks, is located in areas 2 and 5 offshore Mozambique in the Rovuma Basin. They are situated in a frontier area covering 3,100 square miles in water depths that vary between 985 and 8,200 feet.

"The farm-down reflects the attractiveness of Statoil's acreage in Mozambique. Bringing INPEX onboard allows the companies to diversify geological risk while sharing the potential upside. The first out of two wells in the license will be drilled during 2Q by the drillship Discoverer Americas," Nick Maden, Statoil's senior vice president for international exploration at Statoil.

"Our presence in Mozambique is in line with Statoil's exploration strategy, focusing on early access in a prolific region. Large gas discoveries have recently been made north of the acreage and the prospectivity for hydrocarbons in the Statoil operated blocks is promising."

After the farm-in completion the license will continue to be operation by Statoil Oil & Gas Mozambique with a 40-percent participating interest. As well as Inpex, other partners include Tullow Mozambique, with a 25-percent interest, and the Mozambican state oil company, which has 10 percent.

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Statoil Farms Out Mozambique License

Norwegian oil major Statoil announced Tuesday that it has farmed down a 25-percent working interest in its exploration license offshore Mozambique to Japan's Inpex Corporation.

The license, which consists of two blocks, is located in areas 2 and 5 offshore Mozambique in the Rovuma Basin. They are situated in a frontier area covering 3,100 square miles in water depths that vary between 985 and 8,200 feet.

"The farm-down reflects the attractiveness of Statoil's acreage in Mozambique. Bringing INPEX onboard allows the companies to diversify geological risk while sharing the potential upside. The first out of two wells in the license will be drilled during 2Q by the drillship Discoverer Americas," Nick Maden, Statoil's senior vice president for international exploration at Statoil.

"Our presence in Mozambique is in line with Statoil's exploration strategy, focusing on early access in a prolific region. Large gas discoveries have recently been made north of the acreage and the prospectivity for hydrocarbons in the Statoil operated blocks is promising."

After the farm-in completion the license will continue to be operation by Statoil Oil & Gas Mozambique with a 40-percent participating interest. As well as Inpex, other partners include Tullow Mozambique, with a 25-percent interest, and the Mozambican state oil company, which has 10 percent.

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Europa Begins Seismic Acquisition over UK Onshore License

Europa Oil & Gas announced Tuesday that it has started the acquisition of 2D seismic data on its onshore PEDL 181 license in east Lincolnshire, UK.

According to the company, PEDL 181 is located in a working hydrocarbon system where a number of discoveries have been made.

Europa said that it will focus on four leads in the southern part of the license, where several prospects have been confirmed following technical evaluation. Three leads lie within the northeast trending Caistor anticline, while another – named Cuxwold – is located south of the anticline.

Europa's existing oil production at the Crosby Warren field lies at the westernmost end of the Brigg-Broughton anticline – which is an analogous trend to the west of the Caistor anticline.

The company has now begun the acquisition of approximately 50 miles of 2D seismic, as well as the reprocessing of existing 3D seismic over the Caistor anticline.

Europa CEO Hugh Mackay commented in a statement:

"The identification of four leads on PEDL 181, which is located next to the PEDL 180 & 182 licences, where we are due to drill an exploration well this year, and our producing oil field at Crosby Warren, is highly encouraging. As previously identified targets are drilled, it is important we maintain a pipeline of leads and prospects at various stages of development.

"Our strategy of developing a diversified asset base comprised of multiple licences including UK production and exploration, a gas appraisal project onshore France, and high impact frontier exploration in the Irish Atlantic Margin where we recently identified two large prospects, provides a portfolio for future drilling. The results of the 2D seismic acquisition
programme, alongside the interpretation of the reprocessed existing 3D datasets, will further define the prospectivity of the PEDL 181 licence and determine our future work programme."

Europa has a 50-percent interest in the PEDL 181 license and is the operator. Egdon Resources UK and Celtique Energie Petroleum each hold a 25-percent stake.

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PRD Energy Scoops Up License Duo in Germany

PRD Energy has been awarded the Ostrohe exploration license, which covers approximately 156,000 acres, as well as the Prasdorf production license, covering approximately 2,000 acres. Both licenses are located in the state of Schleswig-Holstein, within the Northwest German Basin.

The Northwest German Basin has a history of significant petroleum discoveries and a number of these discoveries have been made within close proximity to the Ostrohe license, said PRD.

The Ostrohe license is awarded for an initial period of five years and includes all rights from surface to basement. Pursuant to the terms of the license, PRD is committed to bringing one well onto production within the initial five year term.

The Prasdorf production license previously produced petroleum and was abandoned by its former operator in 1992. It covers approximately 2,000 acres and has been awarded for an initial period of three years and includes all rights from surface to basement. Pursuant to the terms of the license, PRD said it is committed to bringing one well onto production within the initial three-year term.

PRD's subsidiary in the country has also applied for several other exploration and production licenses in Germany on behalf of PRD, and anticipates responses to these applications in the coming months.

The awards of both licenses are subject to review and approval by various municipal and state government authorities in Germany.

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Europa Begins Seismic Acquisition over UK Onshore License

Europa Oil & Gas announced Tuesday that it has started the acquisition of 2D seismic data on its onshore PEDL 181 license in east Lincolnshire, UK.

According to the company, PEDL 181 is located in a working hydrocarbon system where a number of discoveries have been made.

Europa said that it will focus on four leads in the southern part of the license, where several prospects have been confirmed following technical evaluation. Three leads lie within the northeast trending Caistor anticline, while another – named Cuxwold – is located south of the anticline.

Europa's existing oil production at the Crosby Warren field lies at the westernmost end of the Brigg-Broughton anticline – which is an analogous trend to the west of the Caistor anticline.

The company has now begun the acquisition of approximately 50 miles of 2D seismic, as well as the reprocessing of existing 3D seismic over the Caistor anticline.

Europa CEO Hugh Mackay commented in a statement:

"The identification of four leads on PEDL 181, which is located next to the PEDL 180 & 182 licences, where we are due to drill an exploration well this year, and our producing oil field at Crosby Warren, is highly encouraging. As previously identified targets are drilled, it is important we maintain a pipeline of leads and prospects at various stages of development.

"Our strategy of developing a diversified asset base comprised of multiple licences including UK production and exploration, a gas appraisal project onshore France, and high impact frontier exploration in the Irish Atlantic Margin where we recently identified two large prospects, provides a portfolio for future drilling. The results of the 2D seismic acquisition
programme, alongside the interpretation of the reprocessed existing 3D datasets, will further define the prospectivity of the PEDL 181 licence and determine our future work programme."

Europa has a 50-percent interest in the PEDL 181 license and is the operator. Egdon Resources UK and Celtique Energie Petroleum each hold a 25-percent stake.

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PRD Energy Scoops Up License Duo in Germany

PRD Energy Inc. has been awarded the Ostrohe Exploration License covering approximately 156,000 acres as well as the Prasdorf Production License, covering approximately 2,000 acres. Both licenses are located in the state of Schleswig-Holstein, and are within the Northwest German Basin. The licenses have been awarded to PRD Energy GmbH, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company.

The Northwest German Basin has a history of significant petroleum discoveries and a number of these discoveries have been made within close proximity to the Ostrohe license. The Ostrohe license is awarded for an initial period of five years and includes all rights surface to basement. Pursuant to the terms of the license, PRD is committed to bringing one well onto production within the initial five year term. The award of this license is subject to the review and approval by various municipal and state government authorities in Germany.

The Prasdorf Production License previously produced petroleum and was abandoned by its former operator in 1992. The Prasdorf Production License covers approximately 2,000 acres and is awarded for an initial period of three years and includes all rights surface to basement. Pursuant to the terms of the license, PRD is committed to bringing one well onto production within the initial three year term. The award of this license is subject to the review and approval by various municipal and state government authorities in Germany.

PRD Energy GmbH has also applied for several other exploration and production licenses in Germany on behalf of PRD, and anticipates responses to these applications in the coming months.

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Novatek Wins Auction for East-Tazovskoye License

OAO Novatek announced Thursday that its subsidiary OOO Novatek-Tarkosaleneftegas won an auction for exploration and production license for the East-Tazovskoye field. Payment for the license was set at RR 3.19 billion.

The East-Tazovskoye field is located in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Region in close proximity to the North-Russkoye field, the license for which is also held by OOO Novatek- Tarkosaleneftegas.

As of Jan. 1, 2012, recoverable reserves of the field under Russian reserve classification "C1 + C2" amounted to 65.3 billion cubic meters of natural gas and 13.4 million tons of liquid hydrocarbons.

"The acquisition of a new license is fully consistent with our strategy and allows us to expand the resource base in our core region. We will benefit from significant synergies due to the proximity of the East-Tazovskoye field to our existing asset base," Chairman of Novatek's Management Board Leonid Mikhelson noted.

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JKX Wraps Up Seismic Gig at Ukraine License

JKX Oil & Gas plc announced that it has completed the acquisition of its 15-square mile (40-square kilometer) 3D seismic program on its Zaplavskoye exploration license in Ukraine. The additional data set will facilitate the identification of additional targets in the Visean sandstones which form the main reservoirs in this area of the license. The appraisal program follows the successful well Z-4 discovery which was drilled in 2012.

Data processing is being performed by Tricom Geophysical in Denver and is scheduled for completion by the second quarter of 2013 when interpretation will be undertaken. Data will be merged with the recently reprocessed main Novo-Nikolaevskoye field 3D seismic surveys where imaging resolution has been improved appreciably. This has advanced the understanding of both the Tournasian Carbonate and Devonian Sandstone reservoir development in the area where it is now believed the carbonate play extends further off-structure than previously modeled.

Results of the seismic interpretation will also be used in the development planning phase of water flood projects currently being assessed in the Molchanovskoye North and Ignatovskoye fields. These projects have the potential to improve oil recovery factors significantly in those areas. Studies are currently underway to firm up all these plays into targets for the 2013-2014 drilling program.

JKX Chief Executive, Dr Paul Davies, commented: "I am pleased to see that improving seismic acquisition and processing techniques allow our teams to refine their understanding of this complex area and to appraise the development potential of the large Zaplavskoye license."

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Forum Gets More Time to Drill on Disputed License Offshore Philippines

Forum Energy disclosed late Friday in a statement that it has secured a two-year extension from the Philippine Department of Energy (DOE) to drill two appraisal wells in an offshore petroleum license, Service Contract 72 (SC72), located in territory claimed by China in the South China Sea.

SC72, sited west of the Palawan Island in the South China Sea, spans 3,398 square miles (8,800 square kilometers). Forum revealed in its 2011 earnings report that results from a 96 square kilometer (248 square mile) 3D seismic survey of the license indicated a mean volume of 3.4 trillion cubic feet of gas-in-place with significant upside.

The company has been planning to start on its second sub-phase work program, which involves the drilling of two appraisal wells, but it has been unable to send rigs to the license area due to interference from Chinese naval ships.

"The DOE can extend the license of SC72 should the project proponents find it difficult to implement their program … amid the territorial dispute involving China and Taiwan," the DOE said in a statement in May of last year.

Under the extended contract, Forum will need to complete drilling two appraisal wells by Aug.14, 2015. The original contract states that Forum was to complete drilling the wells by mid-2013.

The Philippines has moved to challenge China's claim to most of the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea at a United Nations tribunal. On Jan. 22, Manila told Beijing's ambassador about its decision to take China to arbitration under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Quintella has reported on the upstream and downstream oil and petrochemicals markets from 2004. Email Quintella at quintella.koh@rigzone.com.

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