EnQuest on Track for Kraken Go-Ahead

UK independent EnQuest reported Wednesday that it is on course to submit a field development plan for its Kraken development in the UK North Sea during the current quarter. The firm said it expected to sanction the development of Kraken later in 2013.

"EnQuest's growth and execution remain on course.  We are on track to submit the field development plan (FDP) for Kraken by mid-year and to sanction the project later in 2013.  The well results in north Kraken are in line with expectations and give further confidence in the field development," EnQuest Chief Executive Amjad Bseisu commented in a company update released Wednesday morning.

Bseisu also noted that EnQuest completed its acquisition of eight percent of the Alba field, which he said has similar characteristics to Kraken, in the first quarter.  

"Alba adds four non-operated wells to the twelve wells that EnQuest had originally planned for 2013," he said.

Meanwhile, the firm's Alma/Galia project remains on track for first production during the fourth quarter of 2013 and dry dock work on the EnQuest Producer vessel is now complete.

EnQuest said that its average production during the first four months of the year amounted to 20,494 barrels of oil equivalent per day, compared with 20,976 boepd over the same period in 2012.

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Premier On Track for 75,000 Barrels Per Day

UK oil and gas independent Premier Oil confirmed Thursday production guidance of between 65,000 and 70,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) for 2013.

Reporting its final results for 2012, Premier said that it should achieve an exit rate for 2013 of 75,000 boepd once its Huntington and Rochelle fields in the North Sea come on stream. First oil is expected from Huntington at the end of this month, while Rochelle is now expected to be on stream around mid-year after storm damage occurred to the initial development well on the field.

The firm's production in 2012 increased 43 percent to 57,700 boepd from 40,400 boepd in 2011.

Key project milestones expected in 2013 include the completion of the first phase of development drilling on the Solan project and the final sanction of the Catcher project, both in the UK North Sea. Meanwhile, concept selection for the Sea Lion project off the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic is also expected to be completed during 2013 (Premier entered the Falkland Islands by acquiring operatorship of the estimated 300 million-barrel Sea Lion field in 2012).

Premier also said that it plans 15 exploration and appraisal wells for 2013. Five of these will be high-impact wells targeting in excess of 150 million boe, including Luno II (already spud), Matang (Indonesia) and Bonneville (UK), whose well results are expected imminently.

Premier added that, as well as its Sea Lion prospect in the Falkland Islands, it has a number of maturing play-opening prospects ongoing in Kenya, Norway and Iraq that are set for drilling in 2014 and 2015.

"Premier has built a strong asset portfolio which will act as a springboard for significant further growth over the medium-term. We have a number of development projects coming on-stream in the short-term, an exploration portfolio with increasing materiality and another key leg to our business as a result of our entry into the Falkland Islands," Premier Chief Executive Simon Lockett commented in a statement.

"Over the last seven years, our team has transformed the size and profitability of our business; the strategy we put in place in 2005 has delivered this growth. The next three years will see a further transformation of the business as we increase production and generate significantly greater cash flows."

Premier reported a record profit after tax for 2012 of $252 million (2011: $171.2 million). The company also said it had increased its reserves and resources by 51 percent to 773 million boe.

Analysts at London-based investment bank finnCap described the results as containing "a good set of numbers". 

A former engineer, Jon is an award-winning editor who has covered the technology, engineering and energy sectors since the mid-1990s. Email Jon at jmainwaring@rigzone.com.

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Premier On Track for 75,000 Barrels Per Day

UK oil and gas independent Premier Oil confirmed Thursday production guidance of between 65,000 and 70,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) for 2013.

Reporting its final results for 2012, Premier said that it should achieve an exit rate for 2013 of 75,000 boepd once its Huntington and Rochelle fields in the North Sea come on stream. First oil is expected from Huntington at the end of this month, while Rochelle is now expected to be on stream around mid-year after storm damage occurred to the initial development well on the field.

The firm's production in 2012 increased 43 percent to 57,700 boepd from 40,400 boepd in 2011.

Key project milestones expected in 2013 include the completion of the first phase of development drilling on the Solan project and the final sanction of the Catcher project, both in the UK North Sea. Meanwhile, concept selection for the Sea Lion project off the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic is also expected to be completed during 2013 (Premier entered the Falkland Islands by acquiring operatorship of the estimated 300 million-barrel Sea Lion field in 2012).

Premier also said that it plans 15 exploration and appraisal wells for 2013. Five of these will be high-impact wells targeting in excess of 150 million boe, including Luno II (already spud), Matang (Indonesia) and Bonneville (UK), whose well results are expected imminently.

Premier added that, as well as its Sea Lion prospect in the Falkland Islands, it has a number of maturing play-opening prospects ongoing in Kenya, Norway and Iraq that are set for drilling in 2014 and 2015.

"Premier has built a strong asset portfolio which will act as a springboard for significant further growth over the medium-term. We have a number of development projects coming on-stream in the short-term, an exploration portfolio with increasing materiality and another key leg to our business as a result of our entry into the Falkland Islands," Premier Chief Executive Simon Lockett commented in a statement.

"Over the last seven years, our team has transformed the size and profitability of our business; the strategy we put in place in 2005 has delivered this growth. The next three years will see a further transformation of the business as we increase production and generate significantly greater cash flows."

Premier reported a record profit after tax for 2012 of $252 million (2011: $171.2 million). The company also said it had increased its reserves and resources by 51 percent to 773 million boe.

Analysts at London-based investment bank finnCap described the results as containing "a good set of numbers". 

A former engineer, Jon is an award-winning editor who has covered the technology, engineering and energy sectors since the mid-1990s. Email Jon at jmainwaring@rigzone.com.

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Chevron: On Track for 20% Production Growth By 2017

NEW YORK - Chevron Corp. expects to increase its oil and natural gas production by more than 20% by 2017, the company said Tuesday at its annual investor conference.

Chevron is in the midst of completing a number of expensive, large-scale projects meant to raise production around the globe, including a massive natural gas project in Australia and new oil wells in the ultra-deep waters in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The company hopes to boost its daily oil and natural gas production to 3.3 million barrels in 2017 from the nearly 2.7 million barrels it averaged in the fourth quarter of 2012.

"Our key development projects remain on track," said John Watson, Chevron's chief executive.

Global oil companies have scouted the globe for new production fields as such countries as China and India increase their energy appetite. The two countries are expected to increase their natural gas imports by 10% a year for the next decade, Mr. Watson said. Chevron, the second-largest U.S. oil company in terms of capital after Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), is spending $36.7 billion in 2013 alone to search for and develop fields in nearly every continent.

"Spending in 2014 and 2015 will be higher," Mr. Watson said. "Any legacy-sized asset will be expensive."

After new projects come online, Chevron expects to generate $50 billion in cash in 2017, up more than $10 billion from 2012, said Patricia Yarrington, Chevron's chief financial officer.

Chevron expects to export natural gas starting in early 2015 from its Gorgon project and the following year from its Wheatstone project, both in Australia, said George Kirkland, Chevron's head of upstream operations. The two projects are expected to have a combined capacity of more than 15 million metric tons a year.

Chevron last month said it started test production at the St. Malo well in the relatively undeveloped Lower Tertiary trend far out in the Gulf of Mexico. Oil production from the well, more than 20,000 feet under the sea floor, was more than 13,000 barrels a day despite being constrained by the use of test equipment, the company said.

Chevron expects St. Malo and its twin well, Jack, to ultimately produce 177,000 barrels a day.

Chevron, of San Ramon, Calif., also may expand its operations in unconventional onshore fields in North America, including the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico and the Marcellus gas field in Pennsylvania, the company said. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and other recent innovations in drilling techniques have yielded growing amounts of oil and natural gas from those and other shale rock formations.

Chevron plans to "selectively pursue growth" in petrochemicals and lubricants production, the company said. Demand for chemicals and lubricants is expected to outpace that for motor fuel in Asia, said Mike Wirth, Chevron's head of refining operations.

Chevron also is investing in its California refineries to run more varieties of crude oil in a push to drive down operating costs. Its refinery in Richmond, Calif., has started processing crude oil from North Dakota and will use discounted crudes from a variety of sources, Mr. Wirth said.

"Our bread and butter is optimizing our operations by using different feedstocks," Mr. Wirth said.

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Chevron: On Track for 20% Production Growth By 2017

NEW YORK - Chevron Corp. expects to increase its oil and natural gas production by more than 20% by 2017, the company said Tuesday at its annual investor conference.

Chevron is in the midst of completing a number of expensive, large-scale projects meant to raise production around the globe, including a massive natural gas project in Australia and new oil wells in the ultra-deep waters in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The company hopes to boost its daily oil and natural gas production to 3.3 million barrels in 2017 from the nearly 2.7 million barrels it averaged in the fourth quarter of 2012.

"Our key development projects remain on track," said John Watson, Chevron's chief executive.

Global oil companies have scouted the globe for new production fields as such countries as China and India increase their energy appetite. The two countries are expected to increase their natural gas imports by 10% a year for the next decade, Mr. Watson said. Chevron, the second-largest U.S. oil company in terms of capital after Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), is spending $36.7 billion in 2013 alone to search for and develop fields in nearly every continent.

"Spending in 2014 and 2015 will be higher," Mr. Watson said. "Any legacy-sized asset will be expensive."

After new projects come online, Chevron expects to generate $50 billion in cash in 2017, up more than $10 billion from 2012, said Patricia Yarrington, Chevron's chief financial officer.

Chevron expects to export natural gas starting in early 2015 from its Gorgon project and the following year from its Wheatstone project, both in Australia, said George Kirkland, Chevron's head of upstream operations. The two projects are expected to have a combined capacity of more than 15 million metric tons a year.

Chevron last month said it started test production at the St. Malo well in the relatively undeveloped Lower Tertiary trend far out in the Gulf of Mexico. Oil production from the well, more than 20,000 feet under the sea floor, was more than 13,000 barrels a day despite being constrained by the use of test equipment, the company said.

Chevron expects St. Malo and its twin well, Jack, to ultimately produce 177,000 barrels a day.

Chevron, of San Ramon, Calif., also may expand its operations in unconventional onshore fields in North America, including the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico and the Marcellus gas field in Pennsylvania, the company said. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and other recent innovations in drilling techniques have yielded growing amounts of oil and natural gas from those and other shale rock formations.

Chevron plans to "selectively pursue growth" in petrochemicals and lubricants production, the company said. Demand for chemicals and lubricants is expected to outpace that for motor fuel in Asia, said Mike Wirth, Chevron's head of refining operations.

Chevron also is investing in its California refineries to run more varieties of crude oil in a push to drive down operating costs. Its refinery in Richmond, Calif., has started processing crude oil from North Dakota and will use discounted crudes from a variety of sources, Mr. Wirth said.

"Our bread and butter is optimizing our operations by using different feedstocks," Mr. Wirth said.

Copyright (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

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OMV 'On Track' to Meet Production Goals

VIENNA - Austrian oil and gas company OMV AG is on track to meet its long term production goals, the company's chief executive officer said Thursday.

"We are [on] the way," Gerhard Roiss said at a press conference.

OMV aims to be producing 350,000 barrels of oil equivalent by 2016. In 2012, the company produced 303,000 barrels of oil equivalent.

OMV's board member responsible for exploration and production, Jaap Huijskes, said that he expects the company's production to continue to grow after 2016 and that he is confident that the company will meet its 2016 production goal.

The company is hoping to succeed in its goal to expand into sub-Sahara Africa this year, Mr. Huijskes added.

Mr. Huijskes also said that security remains a worry in Libya and Yemen, where OMV suffered production stops due to political unrest. Currently there are no expatriate workers in Libya, he said.

Mr. Huijskes and Mr. Roiss were speaking at OMV's 2012 earnings press conference.

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OMV 'On Track' to Meet Production Goals

VIENNA - Austrian oil and gas company OMV AG is on track to meet its long term production goals, the company's chief executive officer said Thursday.

"We are [on] the way," Gerhard Roiss said at a press conference.

OMV aims to be producing 350,000 barrels of oil equivalent by 2016. In 2012, the company produced 303,000 barrels of oil equivalent.

OMV's board member responsible for exploration and production, Jaap Huijskes, said that he expects the company's production to continue to grow after 2016 and that he is confident that the company will meet its 2016 production goal.

The company is hoping to succeed in its goal to expand into sub-Sahara Africa this year, Mr. Huijskes added.

Mr. Huijskes also said that security remains a worry in Libya and Yemen, where OMV suffered production stops due to political unrest. Currently there are no expatriate workers in Libya, he said.

Mr. Huijskes and Mr. Roiss were speaking at OMV's 2012 earnings press conference.

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Statoil 'On Track' to Deliver 2.5M Barrels Per Day by 2020

Norwegian major Statoil is on track to see production hit 2.5 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2020, according to a results statement released by the firm Thursday. The growth is expected to come from new projects in the period from 2014 to 2016.

However, Statoil CFO Torgrim Reitan cautioned in a presentation to analysts in London that the firm expects production this year to be lower than that achieved in 2012 for a variety of reasons including divestments and uncertainty about the resumption of production at the In Amenas facility in southern Algeria, which was the subject of a terrorist attack in January.

In Thursday's results statement Statoil revealed that it delivered equity production of just above two million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in 2012 – an increase of eight percent over 2011's figure of 1.85 million boepd.

Proved reserves at the end of 2012 stood at 5.422 million barrels of oil equivalent, which was close to 2011's figure of 5.426 million barrels. Statoil said that a total of 735,000 barrels were added last year through revisions, extensions, discoveries and acquisitions.

"2012 was a year of strong strategic and operational progress for Statoil. We grew our production by eight percent in 2012, in line with the target we announced in 2011, and we delivered strong earnings growth. We are well underway to deliver profitability on our ambition of producing more than 2.5 million barrels of oil equivalents per day in 2020," Statoil CEO Helge Lund commented in the statement.

Statoil is planning to spend around $19 billion on capital projects during 2013 and this will include the drilling of 50 exploration wells, the firm said.

Meanwhile, the company said it will conduct an investigation to determine the relevant chain of events before, during and after the In Amenas attack in order to enable it to improve its security, risk assessment and emergency procedures.

"The whole of Statoil is strongly affected by the terror attack. We continue to assist and support the families, friends and colleagues who have lost those dear to them. The safety of our staff and partners will remain our highest priority," Lund added. 

A former engineer, Jon is an award-winning editor who has covered the technology, engineering and energy sectors since the mid-1990s. Email Jon at jmainwaring@rigzone.com.

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