Land Rigs

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Houston American Energy Updates Test Results from La. Well

Houston American Energy Corp. announced Friday that Pennington Oil & Gas, LLC, the operator of the Crown Paper #1 well in the Profit Island Field in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, has successfully carried out a recompletion of the Crown Paper #1 well. Houston American holds a 5.675 percent royalty interest in the well, which interest will be reduced to a 2.838 percent royalty interest after Houston American's receipt of royalties totaling approximately $225,000. Houston American also holds working interests and royalty interest in adjacent acreage to the Profit Island Field.

The Crown Paper #1 well came back on production following the recompletion April 25 and is currently producing in excess of 300 barrels of condensate and 900 mcf of gas per day.

John Terwilliger, Chief Executive Officer of Houston American Energy, stated, "While it is early in its production life for this new interval, I am very pleased with the initial production from the well. As a royalty owner, Houston American is not privy to all of the data on the well and can't speak as to the future cash flows that may be realized from the well. Nonetheless, I view the successful recompletion in the Tuscaloosa Sand as favorable to our Profit Island and North Profit Island Prospects. Houston American will continue to evaluate this area as well as pursue other domestic opportunities."

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Iran Courts Indian Companies with More Alluring Oil Contracts

Iran has offered new, more alluring terms to reluctant Indian companies to win the investment it craves for its decaying energy sector suffering from tight Western sanctions.

Iran started offering production sharing contracts (PSCs), long denied to investors, to a group of Indian oil executives visiting Tehran in January, an Indian industry source said on Thursday.

Tehran's insistence, until now, on paying contractors back in oil made projects unattractive to foreign firms even before sanctions made it nearly impossible for most to work there.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi repeated the production sharing offer during an India-Iran Joint Commission meeting with Indian external affairs minister Salman Khurshid in Tehran last weekend, Indian media reported.

Indian firms say the risks of investing large sums in Iran are still too great, even with a more attractive PSC regime.

We expressed our reservations because of international sanctions and non-availability of services and material required for execution projects,'' said a source who was involved in talks with Iran on potential upstream activities in January.

Three Indian companies with stakes in a gas field in Iran - Indian Oil Corp., ONGC Videsh and Oil India - told a U.S. government watchdog late last year that they had no plans to pursue further work on the project.

According to Iranian media reports, the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) has been drafting production-sharing contracts in the hope of attracting Asian companies, which are not banned by their governments from operating in Iran, to invest in its rundown industry.

Indian press reports said that the two foreign ministers discussed PSCs on Saturday at their meeting in Tehran.

A statement published by the Indian foreign ministry after the meeting said the two sides agreed to study joint investment prospects in both countries but made no mention of energy agreements.

The two ministers did discuss India working to upgrade Iran's Chahbahar Port near the border with Pakistan to help boost trade with land-locked Afghanistan to the north, according to the Indian statement.

We are determined to explore and use all capacities for economic cooperation,'' Khurshid was quoted as saying in a statement published by the Iranian foreign ministry.

Under Iran's established buy-back system, contractors are supposed to be paid in oil and gas from projects they develop with their own capital but then have to hand back the project to Iranian companies when completed and wait for pay back.

This system has kept oil majors like Italy's Eni waiting for multi-million-dollar payments for projects they completed decades ago, while sanctions make it still more difficult to get the oil from Iran.

Under the new contracts, NIOC plans to transfer development of small oil and gas fields to contractors so that the state-run Iranian oil company plays only a supervisory role, NIOC director Ahmad Qalebani was reported as saying by Fars News in March.

PSC's would only be offered for shared fields, he was quoted as saying during a meeting in Tehran on the development of Iran's contracting system in March.

Iran has been courting Asian and Russian energy companies to develop its vast oil and gas reserves over the last few years, and there are still a number of Chinese and Russian companies working in upstream projects, according to the U.S. government.

Western sanctions have also dampened their appetite for long-term investments in the isolated Islamic Republic, on current contract terms, with Chinese companies slamming the brakes on projects they agreed to develop years ago.

Under pressure from Washington, India and China - two of Iran's biggest oil buyers - have also sharply reduced their imports of Iranian crude over the last year.

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Expro Celebrates 40-Year Anniversary at OTC

Leading international oilfield services company, Expro, is celebrating its 40th anniversary at this year's Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston by showcasing its investment in new technology and innovation.
As part of that commitment Expro is launching the proto-type HawkEye V downhole camera, new high pressure/high temperature (HP/HT) Drill Stem Testing (DST) BigCat packer, and Expro Annulus operated Circulating and Test (ExACT) tool.
The new HawkEye V downhole camera offers market-leading imaging capability and information, to develop cost-effective remediation solutions for complex wellbore flow restrictions, obstacles and reservoir management. HawkEye V features 300 degrees Fahrenheit capability, bi-directional side view rotation/scan (snapshot) in single degree increments, with enhanced quality picturing and software.
A range of Expro's cameras, calipers and logging tools will also be on show, to assist in demonstrating Expro's global wireline intervention capabilities and its ability to offer blow out preventer and riser inspection services.
Expro will also showcase the new DST BigCat packer, which provides a high strength, single-trip retrievable alternative to seal-bore packers in HP/HT well tests. The fully annulus-operated ExACT tool - which is the most advanced tool of its kind - combines downhole shut-in and circulating functionality. Rated at 15K psi and temperatures of up to 450°F, ExACT features minimal, fast-cycling to position the ball and ports in the required position.
Expro's enhanced DST capabilities provide technology and specialist data services from reservoir to disposal, to provide an integrated well test solutions package across the exploration and appraisal (E&A) phase of the well. This includes tubing conveyed perforating, data acquisition, surface read-out through cableless telemetry, fluids sampling and analysis, compact well testing solutions and enhanced flow measurement.
In addition to new product launches, Expro features some of its most recent market-leading products, including SafeWells well integrity software and Advanced Reservoir Testing (ART) services using the Cableless Telemetry System (CaTS).
Expro's pioneering SafeWells well integrity data management solution was developed in collaboration with the industry, to allow well integrity to be monitored in real time and provide a clear overview of asset integrity. A full demonstration will be available on the stand, highlighting how this is customized to operator requirements, in alignment with company, legislation and industry best practice.
CaTS is a revolutionary development in the field of reservoir monitoring and control, which can be retrofitted into existing wells and transmits high quality pressure and temperature data to surface in real-time using the well's casing as a conduit for the signal to transfer along.
ART is a special application of CaTS that enables permanently abandoned E&A wells, zones or pilot holes to be cost effectively converted into long-term, high value monitoring assets. The CaTS data is proving of value in reducing uncertainties in reservoir connectivity and identifying any far boundaries. Using an electromagnetic signal, CaTS is not influenced by cemented pipe, cement plugs or bridge plugs meaning that the well can be permanently abandoned with no further well intervention required.
A full range of other products and services are being demonstrated at the stand, including Expro's market leading subsea landing strings, its global well testing services, the SONAR non-intrusive clamp on meter, well intervention and integrity tools, and the Expro PowerChokes brand.
Expro's Chief Executive Officer Charles Woodburn said: "Reaching 40 is a huge success and testament to the continued expertise and commitment from Expro's 5,000+ employees across the world. Looking to the next 40 years, it is important that we continue to drive forward our commitment to technology and innovation – this is highlighted through our record year of investment in R&D and new equipment.
"At OTC we will be highlighting a range of new technologies, as well as our existing market-leading products and services, which demonstrates our commitment to both customers and the wider industry. With a firm focus on safety and quality, we continue to enhance our portfolio and position as a global provider of well flow management solutions, from exploration and appraisal through to abandonment."