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Post by Blitz on Apr 25, 2024 7:40:31 GMT -5
Equinor rolls up its sleeves for imminent Argentina exploration well Drillship Valaris DS-17 is en route to spud closely watched Argerich-1 wildcat Getting ready: Equinor chief executive Anders Opedal Photo: EQUINOR Fabio Palmigiani, South America Correspondent, Rio de Janeiro - Published 58 minutes ago www.upstreamonline.com/exploration/equinor-rolls-up-its-sleeves-for-imminent-argentina-exploration-well/2-1-1633211Norwegian oil company Equinor is just days away from drilling a highly anticipated exploration well in a promising deepwater play in the Argentina Norte basin. The planned wildcat, Argerich-1, will be the first deep-water probe to be drilled more than 300 kilometres off the Argentinian coast in a region where the government auctioned several blocks in its 2019 bid round. There are also expectations the geology in the Argentina Norte basin could offer similarities with super-sized discoveries made in Namibia, on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, by European players Shell, TotalEnergies and Galp Energia. You need a subscription to read this story
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Post by Blitz on Apr 25, 2024 7:44:11 GMT -5
Equinor sets timeline for exploration well offshore Argentina Feb. 16, 2024 - Camilo Ciruzzi www.upstreamonline.com/exploration/equinor-rolls-up-its-sleeves-for-imminent-argentina-exploration-well/2-1-1633211Equinor in April will begin drilling the Argerich-1 well in the North Argentinian basin, offshore Argentina. Equinor operations map, offshore Argentina. Equinor in April will begin drilling the Argerich-1 exploration well in the CAN 100 block in the North Argentinian basin, offshore Argentina. The well will be drilled 315 km from the port of Mar del Plata by the Valaris DS-17 drillship in 1,527 m water depth. It will be the first to be drilled in the country in ultra-deep waters. The well is expected to reach about 2,500 m in depth and 106 cm in diameter at the sediment surface. Drilling work is estimated to take 55-65 days. If the presence of oil is confirmed, Equinor and partners are expected to carry out an appraisal campaign in 2025 to gather technical data including field size and potential productivity. The Argerich project is operated by Equinor with 35% interest. Partners are YPF (35%) and Shell plc (30%).
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Post by Blitz on Apr 25, 2024 7:45:31 GMT -5
Argerich-1 draws attention to deepwater exploration in Argentina and Uruguay 4 Aug 2023 - Fernanda Machado, Renata Machado www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/ci/research-analysis/argerich1-draws-attention-to-deepwater-exploration.htmlAn announcement made by the Argentine government in early July 2023 has focused attention on offshore activities. Equinor and partners have been granted permission to drill the country's first offshore ultra-deepwater well, Argerich-1, in the Argentina Basin's CAN-100 block. Most of the country's hydrocarbon exploration is concentrated onshore (with both conventional and unconventional plays), and in shallow shelf waters of the Austral and Malvinas basins. The Argerich-1 new-field wildcat well (NFW), in a water depth of over 1,500 m, will test a new exploration frontier. The high expectations rest for Argerich are founded largely on the recent deepwater exploration success in Namibia's Orange subbasin, where Venus, Graff, and Jonker were discovered. The discovery of more than 6 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) of recoverable resources in the last two years in the south region of the African conjugate margin has reignited interest in the southern Atlantic coastal margin. Over the last four years, international oil companies and independents have built interesting positions in the Argentina, Colorado and Pelotas basins in Argentina and Uruguay. TotalEnergies, Shell, and QatarEnergy have all had success in southern Namibia's deepwater and are currently present in the Latin America Atlantic coast basins. The Argerich-1 NFW is operated by Equinor in partnership with Shell and YPF and planned for the end of 2023. It is considered to be a high-impact well (HIW) with potential resources estimated at 1,100 million boe. The target is expected to be the Cretaceous basin floor fan sandstones, similar to those found in the Namibian discoveries, that remains untested in the Latin American Atlantic margin. TotalEnergies drilled a NFW in late 2016, the Raya-1 well, in deepwaters of Pelotas Basin targeting the Oligocene, however the result were disappointing. The well was plugged and abandoned after being declared dry. To date, the only evidence of hydrocarbons in exploration wells in this general area have been from shows seen in the shallow water of Colorado Basin. Argerich-1 results will likely shape exploration in the region for the foreseeable future. An oil discovery at Argerich might potentially be developed via a floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel, utilizing existing port infrastructure in the Argentinian coast. The gas narrative is different and could be challenging, due to the lack of existing infrastructure to monetize offshore gas, and due to competition from the growing gas production coming from the Vaca Muerta onshore shale play. An early assessment by YPF has indicated that an FPSO with a processing capacity of 200,000 bbl/d could be deployed for an oil development, with the oil transferred in shuttle tankers. In this scenario the gas will most likely be re-injected and used for onsite power generation during operations, which may also present a strategy to reduce CO2 emissions. These assumptions and parameters were adopted to model a potential asset development using S&P Global cost estimation tool Que$tor™. The Argerich development analysis has indicated a strong economic outcome in preliminary valuation results, with production starting 10 years after discovery. Notional Argerich project economics show a positive net present value (NPV) of more than 5 billion USD at a 10% discount rate and an internal rate of return (IRR) greater than 20% under the current oil price scenario. Over a 25-year period, total capital investment is expected to exceed 20 billion USD1. Furthermore, even if oil prices fell below $50 per barrel, the field would still be profitable. There is a high level of uncertainty linked with, but not limited to, technical development choices and geological risks, which might have material impact to the valuations. Note: 1 Valuation is provided at the $82/bbl oil price with adjustments for crude quality (API). Vantage assumes a forecast annual inflation rate of 2% from the current year forward which is applied to both costs and prices unless fixed by known contracts. All prices are assigned up to and including the current year with all nominal future prices adjusted by inflation thereafter (constant in real terms). Mid-year discounting has been applied with a default nominal discount rate of 10%. Valuation is conducted current year forward. /////////////////////// Pangea and oil basins...
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Post by Blitz on Apr 25, 2024 7:58:44 GMT -5
Example of what's going on now offshore Namibia in that same oil belt that was once interconnected until continental drift and the break up of Pangea occurred.... Halliburton, Rhino Resources to develop deepwater exploration hot spot in prolific Orange basin offshore Namibia April 24, 2024 www.worldoil.com/news/2024/4/24/halliburton-rhino-resources-to-develop-deepwater-exploration-hot-spot-in-prolific-orange-basin-offshore-namibia/(WO) – Halliburton Company has been awarded a deepwater integrated multi-well construction contract by Rhino Resources Ltd., a private company engaged in both onshore and offshore energy exploration in Africa. Under this agreement, Halliburton will provide complete solutions to construct offshore exploration and appraisal wells, along with testing services. Halliburton will also extend its country operation facilities to support all product service lines from Namibia to enhance collaboration and maximize asset value for Rhino Resources and Namibian customers. With more than a decade of exploration in Namibia, Rhino Resources holds operatorship of Block 2914A (PEL 85). This block in the Orange basin boasts significant potential. It is strategically located less than 20km from the nearest discovery and amidst multiple Namibian discoveries made over the last two years. The block’s proximity to other international operators further underscores its strategic relevance. In late 2022, Rhino conducted a 3D seismic survey that reinforced the block's potential with multiple viable plays and drillable prospects. In addition, Halliburton and Rhino Resources will uphold the emphasis on localization in Namibia’s oil and gas sector, with the aim to distribute the economic advantages of Namibia’s resources to the local community. “Halliburton, with its collaborative approach and solutions engineering, is uniquely positioned to maximize asset value in this block with Rhino Resources. Together, we will establish a standard for innovation and economic growth in the industry,” said Jean Marc Lopez, senior vice president, Europe, Eurasia, and Sub-Saharan Africa at Halliburton. “Rhino is pleased to have established a collaboration with Halliburton and views this as an important driver in the continued growth of the Namibian oil and gas industry,” said Travis Smithard, chief executive officer at Rhino Resources Ltd. “The opportunity for catalyzing local services and the broadening of positive economic influence in Namibia are expected to establish a valuable legacy for the Namibian people well beyond our initial exploration campaign.”
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Post by bjspokanimal on Apr 25, 2024 13:05:32 GMT -5
Equinor rolls up its sleeves for imminent Argentina exploration well Drillship Valaris DS-17 is en route to spud closely watched Argerich-1 wildcat Getting ready: Equinor chief executive Anders Opedal Photo: EQUINOR Fabio Palmigiani, South America Correspondent, Rio de Janeiro - Published 58 minutes ago www.upstreamonline.com/exploration/equinor-rolls-up-its-sleeves-for-imminent-argentina-exploration-well/2-1-1633211Norwegian oil company Equinor is just days away from drilling a highly anticipated exploration well in a promising deepwater play in the Argentina Norte basin. The planned wildcat, Argerich-1, will be the first deep-water probe to be drilled more than 300 kilometres off the Argentinian coast in a region where the government auctioned several blocks in its 2019 bid round. There are also expectations the geology in the Argentina Norte basin could offer similarities with super-sized discoveries made in Namibia, on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, by European players Shell, TotalEnergies and Galp Energia. You need a subscription to read this story As I mentioned previously, the Valaris DS-17 mentioned above remains as the only reactivation of a cold-stacked floater that I'm aware of whose reactivation was paid for by the customer. At the time, the hope was that the DS-17 deal would break the ice for subsequent, customer- paid reactivations, but they never came to pass. Here is an article and excerpt relating to that: In July, Equinor awarded a 540-day contract to drillship Valaris DS-17 (Reliance) to start in mid-2023, and the 3,658 m/12,000 ft-rated unit will be reactivated for this charter. It was cold stacked in the Canary Islands since 2020 and last worked in the US Gulf of Mexico for Cobalt International in mid-2017. The total contract value of the new job with Equinor is approximately USD 327 million, including an upfront payment totalling about USD 86 million for mobilisation costs, a contribution towards reactivation costs, and capital upgrades.
www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/ci/research-analysis/market-recovery-lower-rig-attrition-higher-rig-reactivation.html
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Post by psvwordtkampioen on Apr 25, 2024 22:21:46 GMT -5
Similar to Stabroek, these CAN blocks are all below a slope. From a fluid dynamics point of view, this does not seem to make much sense: when there is a slope, sediments are likely to keep going (if we are to believe oil is formed out of sediments). They typically settle when they come to an area without flow, not in an area with lots of flow.
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Post by Blitz on Apr 26, 2024 5:55:11 GMT -5
Similar to Stabroek, these CAN blocks are all below a slope. From a fluid dynamics point of view, this does not seem to make much sense: when there is a slope, sediments are likely to keep going (if we are to believe oil is formed out of sediments). They typically settle when they come to an area without flow, not in an area with lots of flow. I would guess that seismic studies have been done that justify drilling hole. Sort of like an itch that has to be scratched. Also, that slope may not have been been there before the continents started to break up and drift apart. It's hard to imagine and you may already know this... South America used to be connected to Antarctica and fossil evidence proves Antarctica used to be a swamp with lush vegetation that could have been turned into oil regardless of the current slope.
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Post by bjspokanimal on Apr 26, 2024 11:08:15 GMT -5
The Foz Amazonas portion of brazil's equatorial margin suggests that both characteristics may be in place. Like Stabroek, it lies in the general producing fairway up and down the coast but it also presents a lot of Sediment production from the Amazon just as the Mississippi delta has spewed a lot of sediment into the GOM. It would seem a good candidate region for multi producing zones.
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