“If I had to do it over again I would do the same thing. I love the chase. The thrill of exploration.”
–Bill Barrett, IPAMS 1993 Wildcatter of the Year, 2003 Hall of Fame Inductee
Oil and gas exploration is an art, and even though the golden age of discoveries is likely in the rearview mirror, a certain appreciation will always remain for the pioneers and wildcatters of the energy industry. Listed below are hydrocarbon discoveries achieved, chronologically, in the first half of 2015:
Date |
Company |
Location |
Formation |
Details |
July 1 | Alvopetro | Offshore Brazil | Reconcavo Basin | Drilled to 6,873’ |
June 22 | YPFB Andina | Bolivia | Santa Cruz | Drilled to 10,620’, IP rate of 700 BOEPD |
June 15 | Contango Oil & Gas | Weston County, Wyoming | Muddy Sandstone | 13,116 TMD, peak 24-hr rate of 908 BOEPD |
June 15 | Pemex | Gulf of Mexico, Litoral of Tabasco | Shallow waters | Believed to hold 350 MMBO |
June 12 | Santos | South Australia | Cooper (eighth discovery of year) | Drilled to 10,423’, holds 15’ of net pay |
June 9 | Statoil | Northwest Norwegian Sea | Aasta Hansteen Field | Drilled to 8,385’, gas column of 230’ |
June 6 | Repsol | Bolivia | Margarita-Huacaya | 14.6 MMBOE of production from the block in 2014 |
June 4 | Lundin Norway | Northwest Norgewian Sea | Draupne | IP rate of 230 BOPD, poor reservoir quality |
June 1 | LLOG Exploration | Gulf of Mexico | Miocene | 50 foot oil column |
May 28 | W&T Offshore | Deepwater Gulf of Mexico | Mississippi Canyon Block #538, IP of 9 MBOEPD | |
May 28 | Premier Oil | Falkman Islands | North Falkman | Drilled to 8,290’ |
May 27 | Tourmaline Oil | Alberta | Lower Montney Turbidite | 30-day IP rate of 1,426 BOEPD |
May 27 | CNOOC | Eastern South China Sea | Pearl River Mouth Basin | Drilled to 9,744’, pay zone of 115’, IP test of 8MBOPD |
May 26 | Eni SPA | Offshore Libya | 7 miles north of the Bouri oil field | Estimated flow of 3,000 BOEPD once optimized |
May 20 | ExxonMobil | Offshore Guyana | Stabroek Block, 120 miles offshore | Drilled to 17,825’, pay zone of 295’ |
May 2 | Repsol | Bolivia | Margarita-Huacaya Block | |
May 1 | Mazarine Energy | Tunisia | Ordovician El Hamra, El Atchane | Drilled to 12,960’, IP test at 4,300 BOPD, 395 Mcf/d |
April 30 | Chevron | Offshore western Australia | Mungaroo Sand | Water depth of 3,175’, gas column of 440’ |
April 27 | Surge Energy | Southwest Saskatchewan | Upper Shaunavon | Reserve estimates expanded to 250 MMBO |
April 27 | Kosmos Energy | Offshore Mauritania | Upper and Lower Cenomanian | Drilled to 15,190’, four pay zones |
April 20 | Repsol | Algeria | Sud-Est Illizi Block | Drilled to 4,288’, IP rate of 175 Mcf/d |
April 20 | Pacific Rubiales | Offshore Brazil | Santos Basin | Drilled to 7,805’, 699’ oil column |
April 17 | Petrobras | Brazil | Espirito | Drilled to 4,304’ |
April 17 | Petrobras | Brazil | Amazon | Drilled to 6,692’ |
April 13 | Statoil | Norwegian Sea | Aasta Hansteen | Drilled to 10,813’, gas column of 125’ |
April 9 | Statoil | Gulf of Mexico, Walker Ridge #160 |
Miocene Yeti | Appraisals underway |
April 8 | Woodside Petroleum | Offshore Western Australia | Jurassic sandstone | 61’ gas column |
March 30 | Statoil | Offshore Tanzania | Block 2 | Additional 1.0 to 1.8 Tcf of reserves |
March 26 | Santos | Offshore Malaysia | Block R | Net oil pay of 220’ |
March 18 | Statoil | Norwegian Sea | Nise | Drilled to 8,904’, gas column of 345’ |
March 16 | Eni SPA | Offshore Libya | Metlaoui | IP rate of 29 MMcf/d, 600 BOPD |
March 11 | Andes Energia | Argentina | Vaca Muerta | Drilled to 7,851’, holds 410’ of gross pay |
March 9 | Foxtrot Intl. | Offshore Ivory Coast | Turonian, Lower Senonian | Drilled to 9,150’ IP rate of 25 MMcf/d, 1,675 BOPD |
March 9 | BP plc | East Nile Delta | Oligocene | Drilled to 21,000’, gas pay of 164’ |
February 18 | GeoPark | Colombia | Guadalupe and Mirador | Drilled to 11,293’, IP rate of 1,000 BOPD |
February 10 | Questerre Energy | Alberta | Montney | IP rate of 340 BOEPD |
February 10 | Canacol Energy | Colombia | Upper Cienaga de Oro | IP test of 7,947 BOEPD from two zones |
February 6 | Lundin Petroleum | Norwegian Sea | Utsira | Noncommercial |
February 4 | Bharat/ Videocon | Offshore Brazil | Sergipe Basin | Drilled to 19,882’ in 8,100’ of water depth |
January 22 | Tullow Oil | Kenya | North Kerio | Drilled to 10,030’, pay zone of 330’ |
January 12 | Gulfsands Petroleum | Morocco | Rharb Centre | IP rate of 7.1 MMcf/d |
January 9 | Petrobras | Offshore Brazil | Sergipe, Muriu area |
Drilled to 18,113’, discovered 183’ of net pay |
January 6 | Chevron | Gulf of Mexico | Lower Tertiary | 140 miles off coast |
January 6 | CNOOC | South China Sea | Qiongdongnan | Drilled to about 13,123’, pay zone of 240’ |