Yes, there are elephants lurking under Senagalese waters, says explorationist FAR Limited, a company that went two for two for frontier exploration tries in 2014, both grand slams! Both discoveries, two of the top 10, are offshore Senegal: FAN and SNE. The discoveries are within the Mauritania-Senegal, Guinea Bissau basin (MSGBC) controlled with PSC’s covering 7,490 sq km. Owners include operator Cairn Energy (40%), ConocoPhillips (35%), FAR (15%) and Petrosen (10% carried). The FAN-1 well discovered P50 OOIP of 950 MMbbls. The SNE-1 well has best estimate resources of 330 MMbbl. Far presents Senegal economics of >25% IRR based on $70 oil and a 10% cost reduction. The lands also hold 9 remaining prospects targeting best estimate of 1.5 Bbbls or a risked 75 MMbbls net to FAR.
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Chevron, already an exploration leader among its peers having created exploration value of $12 billion from 2004-2013, had one of its best years yet in 2014. Last year, Chevron led two of the top 10 global discoveries – Guadalupe and Anchor in the Gulf of Mexico. First, in KC 10, Chevron hit pay with the Guadalupe prospect targeting Lower Tertiary Wilcox sands. The well drilled to 30,173 ft sits in 3,992 ft of water. Partners are operator Chevron (42.5%), BP (42.5%) and Venari Resources (15%). Next, Chevron hit pay again with the Anchor prospect in GC block 807. This well hit multiple Lower Tertiary Wilcox sands and drilled to 33,749 feet in 5,183 feet of water. Anchor owners are operator Chevron (55%), Cobalt (20%), Samson (12.5%) and Venari Resources (12.5%). Looking ahead, Chevron has an active 2015 exploration program.
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Vaalco Energy is a west Africa-focused pure-play company focused offshore Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Angola. The slide above shows the locations of two of the top 10 2014 discoveries – Orca and Bicuar, offshore Angola. The cross-section is a simplified view showing pre- and post-salt structures across an 80-mile section. The Bicuar #1 discovery well (operated by Cobalt) in Block 21 drilled to 18,829 ft was particularly important in that it is the first syn-rift discovery, a new pre-salt geological horizon within the basin. The slide also shows Cobalt’s second 2014 Angola discovery – the Orca #1 drilled to 12,703 ft in block 20. The well tested 3,700 bopd and 16.3 MMcfpd in the upper section. Regarding old-school exploration with high tech, here’s a striking example of seismic advances.
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Swedish explorer Lundin Petroleum expanded on its Ghota discovery in the Loppa High area of the southern Barents Sea by striking oil with its Alta #1 well in PL609. The license is owned by operator Lundin (40%), RWE Dea (30%) and Idemitsu (30%). The discovery has gross resources from 125 – 400 MMboe. The Loppa High area contains several more high-impact prospects and is unique in that it is in an area affected by the Gulf Stream and as such is far from the maximum southern edge of ice. Regionally in the Southern Barents Sea, Lundin is a major license holder in the area that has yielded ~1 billion boe in the last four years. Strikingly, this slide shows Lundin’s leadership status in exploration for the area. This successful old-school exploration is expected to yield strong production growth. |
