KeyFacts Energy continually monitor planned operational activity and will feature regular updates that provide an instant guide to work programs, drilling campaigns and seismic acquisition.

Aker BP   l   Norway

Aker BP continues preparing for final investment decisions for 10-12 new field development projects by the end of 2022. The largest of these is the coordinated development of the NOAKA area. In total, these projects cover more than 500 million barrels of new resources net to Aker BP.

ARA Petroleum   l   Tanzania

ARA is progressing plans for the 2021 seismic acquisition programme including the tendering and contracting work and for the drilling of the Chikumbi-1 well in early 2022. Both of these activities will significantly advance the asset towards a final investment decision on field development which the joint venture aims to take in late 2022, targeting first gas by 2025.

Bahamas Petroleum   l   Suriname

Drill plan, work program and environmental studies for the Extended Well Test (EWT) submitted for approval to Suriname regulatory authorities; target spud date for the first well in Q1 2021.

Bahamas Petroleum   l   Trinidad & Tobago

BCP plan a substantial increase in field activities, including an additional rig being deployed into the field to further expand workover capability/capacity. A work program defined to appraise Saffron discovery, including development of the drill plan for Saffron #2, targets a spud date in Q1 2021.

Bass Oil   l   Indonesia

A new program of mainly development drilling in onshore oilfields in Indonesia has been announced by Australia’s Bass Oil as the Melbourne-based producer looks to double its Indonesian oil output over 2022.

In addition, an updated review of the Company’s reserves and resources, released today, has identified significant potential expansion to the west of the limits of the existing Bunian oil field.

The planned new drilling program, consisting of one firm well and an additional two contingent wells commencing late this year, is the first major new work by Bass on its 55% held oil field interests in southern Sumatra since the commencement of the COVID pandemic.

The Company said today a firming in global oil prices this year and the outcome of the resources review have now encouraged it to plan financing and scheduling of a new expansion drilling program aimed at building daily output from ~500 barrels of oil per day from four production wells within its Tangai Sukananti KSO, hosting the producing Bunian and Tangai oil fields.

Cairn   l   UK, Mexico, Côte d’Ivoire and Mauritania

In 2021, Cairn is planning a drilling programme in both Mexico and the UK and 2D seismic acquisition in Côte d’Ivoire

• In Mexico, operator Eni will drill an exploration well on Block 10 and there is an optional drilling opportunity for an appraisal well of the Saasken discovery (Cairn 15% WI)
• In the UK, Cairn will participate in the Shell-operated Jaws exploration well on P2380 (Cairn 50%WI)
• In Côte d’Ivoire, Cairn has assumed Operatorship (90% WI) in blocks CI-301 and CI-302 from Tullow which has exited both licences. Cairn remains in the Tullow-operated CI-520 (30% WI). The JV has exited blocks CI-518, CI-519, CI-521 and CI-522 effective end December 2020 with all minimum work commitments fulfilled. The 2021 work programme for blocks CI-301 and CI-302 is focussed on completing the planned 2D seismic acquisition, once it is safe to do so.
• Cairn has signed an agreement in Mauritania to operate a licence on block C7 (90% working interest), a large offshore exploration block in a proven hydrocarbon province. The initial two-year work programme will involve reprocessing 1400 km² of existing seismic data.

CNOOC

In 2021, the Company plans to drill 217 exploration wells and collect approximately 17 thousand square kilometers 3-Dimensional (3D) seismic data. 19 new projects are expected to come on stream, which mainly include Lingshui 17-2 gas fields development, Lufeng oil fields regional development, Caofeidian 6-4 oil field in offshore China, Buzzard oil field phase II in the UK and Mero I oil field in Brazil.

Dana Gas   l   Iraq and Egypt

In 2021 the Company will prepare for the drilling of up to five development wells in the KRI which will begin the following year. It is also moving ahead on the evaluation of the highly prospective Block 6 in Egypt, interpreting the infill seismic data that was acquired in mid-2020 and planning for drilling the next exploration well in 2023.

DNO   l   Iraq

During 2021, DNO will ramp up drilling of new development wells at the Tawke license to as many eight from only one in 2020 and conduct multiple workovers on existing producing wells to maintain production above 100,000 bopd.

Petrolia NOCO   l   Norway

Exploration drilling is planned in the Tampen area in 2021, including the Dugong Tail exploration well and Dugong Appraisal well.

Edison E&P   l   Croatia

In Croatia, Edison E&P expects to spud the Irena-2 appraisal well in 4Q 2020. It will target the same gas-bearing horizon that was successful in Irena-1 and, in the event of a success, the well will be suspended for future production.

Forza Petroleum   l   Iraq

Forza Petroleum's budgeted capital expenditures for 2021 are $51 million and dedicated exclusively to the Hawler license area. The planned work program involves drilling five new wells into proven, producing reservoirs and reservoirs still being appraised in the Demir Dagh, Zey Gawra and Banan fields, completing a previously drilled well in the Ain al Safra field for further evaluation, and installing a gathering system to eliminate trucking in the western part of the Hawler license area to reduce environmental impact and operating expense.

Invictus Energy   l   Zimbabwe

In August 2020, Invictus Energy received approval of its application to renew their investment licence from the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Authority, covering the 80% owned and operated Cabora Bassa Project.

A comprehensive work programme has been proposed for the second three year exploration period, including a commitment to drill a minimum of one exploration well.

Independent Oil & Gas   l   UK

In September 2020, IOG hwere offered four new UK Southern North Sea blocks by the Oil and Gas Authority in the 32nd UKCS Licensing Round.  

Panther Block 49/21e: The work programme entails reprocessing of 79km² 3D seismic up to Pre-Stack Depth Migration ("PSDM") and reservoir modelling on Viper.

Grafton Block 49/22b: The work programme entails reprocessing 100km² of 3D seismic up to PSDM. This will help refine the recoverable resource estimate, inform potential field development plans and evaluate possible further resources across the block, including the small additional Isca discovery. 

Allerdale 48/24c and Redwell Northwest 48/23d: The work commitment on these two blocks, which lie in 20-30 metre water depth, is to undertake 61km² of 3D seismic reprocessing up to PSDM. This will refine the Company's view of the sub-surface potential and ties in with the additional 3D seismic reprocessing work currently underway on the Harvey and Redwell licences.

MOL Norge   l   Norway

In PL 617, operator, MOL Norge AS (40 percent), is together with partners OMV (Norge) AS (30 percent) and Wintershall DEA (30 percent before sale) planning to drill the Eidsvoll exploration well in 2021.

Mubadala   l   Egypt

In January 2021, Mubadala signed a Concession Agreement for Red Sea Block 4 in Egypt. The work commitment for the block is to conduct subsurface studies and to acquire 3D seismic during the initial three year term.

Orca Energy   l   Tanzania

Orca Energy is preparing for the workover of onshore well SS-10 in early 2021. A decision on whether to conduct remedial work on two of the older onshore wells, SS-3 and SS-4 will be taken on completion of a major subsurface review of the Songo Songo gas field that will be finalized during Q4 2020. This review, which includes a re-build of the static and dynamic reservoir models, will enable the Company to assess whether the workover of SS-3 and SS-4, or the drilling of new infill wells will be preferable over the remainder of the license period. The review will also incorporate the latest trends in pressure measurements to allow a full re-assessment on the contingent and prospective resource potential and associated economics of drilling and developing the natural gas in the areas known as Songo Songo North and Songo Songo West.

Pantheon Resources   l   Alaska

In September 2020, Pantheon's Alaskan subsidiary, Great Bear Pantheon, received notice from the Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR) that its application to form the Talitha Production Unit of 44,373 acres is complete and eligible for approval. The Talitha Production Unit includes a commitment to drill one well within 2 years or two wells within 4 years.

PetroTal   l   Peru

Based on the successful 2019 and 2020 drilling results, PetroTal will spud five new development wells at Block 95 costing approximately $7 million for the deviated well and between $12- $14 million per horizontal well. Four of these oil wells are expected to be producing in 2021, with the fifth well on production in February 2022. A second water disposal well is planned in May 2021, at an estimated cost of $9 million, providing an expected 50,000 barrels of water per day of additional disposal capacity and enabling oil production growth beyond 20,000 bopd.

Completion of CPF-2 in Q3 2021 for an estimated $12 million will boost fluid handling capacity to 124,000 barrels per day, sufficient for approximately 24,000 bopd. The additional investment will bring total investment in CPF-2 to $24 million, approximately $4 million less than the original estimate. Extensions to the loading dock to handle larger oil volumes and optimal integration of CPF-1 and CPF-2 will require $3 million. Commissioning CPF-2 for commencement in Q3 2021 is designed to facilitate our Q4 2021 average oil production target of between 16,000 and 17,000 bopd.

Remaining notable capital investments include injection pumps, electrical infrastructure, and various field and security upgrades. These smaller capital items will complement the expected operational pace and fluids growth profile throughout 2021. In addition, a $1 million workover on the 4H well will commence in March that will result in a higher capacity pump being installed. The 4H well has been shut in since late January due to a transformer failure during the commissioning of the new crude oil power generation plant, thereby causing issues with the original pump. With the enhanced capacity pump, the estimated lost production of approximately 100,000 barrels of oil will be recovered in Q3 2021 and will lead to consistently higher production rates and a higher estimated ultimate recovery for the 4H well.

Approximately $1.8 million will be allocated for continued technical and permitting work at Block 107, representing approximately 2% of the 2021 total capital program.

Pharos Energy   l   Vietnam

In August 2020, the Joint Operating Company's (JOC) request for an extension for the TGT field licence of two years, was formally granted by the Ministry of Industry and Trade in Vietnam. The licence now runs to 7 December 2026, as the first stage of the full five-year licence extension, and the Company remains confident in securing a licence extension of a further three years to 2029.

This accelerated two-year extension enables the JOC to make investments under the proposed TGT Full Field Development Plan (FFDP), and provides financial flexibility to potentially increase the tenor of the RBL, which currently has a term until 2023, by a further two years. The FFDP, due to commence drilling in Q4 2021, includes drilling six producer wells, has been approved by all Partners and is awaiting final approval from the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

SDX Energy   l   Egypt and Morocco

• Egypt, South Disouq: One development well, Ibn Yunus-2X, and one exploration well, Hanut-1X, will be drilled consecutively, commencing in Q2 2021. The IY-2X well will access the western compartment of the Ibn Yunus field and is expected to be completed and tied back rapidly once drilled. The Hanut-1X well is targeting unrisked mean recoverable volumes of 139bcf with a 33% chance of success. The Company's partner has confirmed that it will participate in both wells. An inlet compressor will be installed at the CPF site to maximise recovery from the fields, and several well workovers are also planned. Once the exploration concession extension that includes the Hanut and Mohsen prospects has been ratified by Parliament, the Company will pay its share of signature and training bonuses.    
• Egypt, West Gharib: At least three infill development wells will be drilled with a fourth contingent upon field performance and the macroeconomic environment. One water injection well will be drilled, and additional facilities to support this project will be installed. Given the recent low oil price environment, only one development well was drilled in 2020.
• Morocco: Four or five wells will be drilled in two campaigns in Q2 and Q4 2021. As the drilling rig is stacked in the Company's yard in Morocco, there will be no significant mobilisation cost and in addition splitting the campaign into two allocates the capital investment over approximately eight months which allows the cost of these wells to be comfortably covered by cash generated in that period. Four wells will target shallow biogenic gas that can be tied into the Company's infrastructure quickly and at low cost. Furthermore, one of these wells will be deepened to test the Top Nappe prospectivity in the Company's core production area. If the first Top Nappe test is successful, then a second well may also be deepened.  On the assumption that the rig continues to be available after the drilling of the four firm wells, a fifth contingent well would target an additional prospect in the BMK area, which was derisked by the BMK-1 well in 2020. A workover programme of up to nine wells will also be conducted, including re-perforation and sliding sleeve operations to exploit behind-pipe reserves and maximise production and recovery from the existing well stock.

Shell   l   UK

In August 2020, Egdon Resources completed the Farm-In Agreement with Shell in respect of offshore licences P1929 and P2304 which contain the Resolution and Endeavour gas discoveries.

The focus will now be on progressing appraisal activity on the Resolution and Endeavour gas discoveries. The first part of this activity will be the acquisition of a marine 3D seismic survey during Q1 2021.

Somoil   l   Angola

With a focus on doubling production in its blocks operated by the end of 2022, Somoil will more than double its investments in 2021. The company is undertaking a sustained capex program in its oil fields, which will have major upgrades for artificial elevation, drilling and workovers with the flexitube installation, as well as a series of greenfield projects.

In order to restart drilling in 2021, Somoil is introducing a platform in Q2 that will start by drilling infill (intermediate) wells and an exploration well.

Tethys Petrolem   l   Kazakhstan

Subject to Tethys securing financing, the company is planning to drill four wells in 2021 in the Kul-Bas field at distances of approximately 500-2000 meters away from KBD-02 (KBD-03, KBD-06, KBD-07, and KBD-08). The first well KBD-03 is scheduled to commence drilling in April if the loan or driller financing can be arranged. While KBD-03 is approved under the exploration license, the other three wells need approval from the MOE. These requests have been submitted.

On the Akkulka gas field Tethys is planning to drill up to 4 exploration gas wells, AKK-21, AKK-28, AKK-29, and AKK-30. The decision on whether or not to drill the later wells will be dependent upon the success of the earlier wells. On the Kyzyloi field Tethys is planning on drilling one gas development well, KYZ-121. All plans are subject to financing.

Tullow Oil   l   Suriname

In Suriname, the Goliathberg-Voltzberg North well in Block 47 is now planned to be drilled in the first quarter of 2021, testing dual targets in the Cretaceous turbidite play in approximately 1,900 metres of water. The well will be drilled by the Stena Forth drillship.

KeyFacts Energy: Planned Operational Activity