Page 50: of Offshore Engineer Magazine (Dec/Jan 2015)

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Bumper

Year in Review crop

Despite the massive cut backs the industry is facing, including cuts to exploration programs, drill bits continued to spin in 2015.

Elaine Maslin reports.

Atwood Achiever. Photo from Atwood Oceanics.

2015 has been a drawn-out tale of cost exploration research at Wood Mackenzie.

Zohr cutting, capex reduction, exploration However, while companies are adapting, Zohr, discovered by Eni, using the cutbacks, retreats back to heart lands and he thinks there will be players willing to Saipem 10,000 drillship, contains pulling back from risky frontiers. test these types of new resources, noting some 3960 MMboe, according to Wood

But you wouldn’t tell if you looked at that the top 10 discoveries for 2015 so far Mackenzie, or 30 Tcf/5.5 Billion boe the year’s exploration results. Deepwater are very much in the hands of the majors. potential reserves, according to IHS. It is

Overall, the average discovery size has ranks high, as do new plays and frontier a massive ? nd and opens a new play, the been about 700 MMbbl, slightly up on areas and it’s largely the majors leading Miocene reef play. It has the same petro-

Ahmeyim recent years, with gas accounting for about the charge. leum system as Israel’s giant Leviathan, 80% of it. But, the results are somewhat but a new reservoir, the Miocene reef, “The simplest way of explaining Ahmeyim is another frontier play, how- skewed by the top two ? nds, Zhor and

Latham says. this is we are yet to see the explora- ever, it is not as close to markets as Zohr.

Ahmeyim (previously known as Tortue), “Not only is Zohr very large, assuming tion outcomes from the new strategies,” Ahmeyim was discovered by Kosmos off Egypt and Mauritania, respectively.

it is appraised well, it is clearly com- says Andrew Latham, vice presidentof Energy, using the Atwood Achiever drill- mercial and that commerciality of new ship, and labelled the largest Atlantic

Top 10 discoveries for 2015 resources has been an issue in recent Margin discovery of 2015. It could have years,” he says. “If it does pan out to be been an oil or has ? nd, Latham says.

Vols. commercial, we will have a higher aver- Like Zohr, it also opened a new petro- discovered age proportion of commercial reserves leum system, the outboard, large-scale

DiscoveryCountry BasinWell operator (MMboe) than resources booked this year,” Latham Cretaceous petroleum system across

Zohr Egypt Nile Delta Eni 3960 notes, adding that this is something that Mauritania-Senegal, and could hold some has been lacking in recent years. 15 Tcf, according to Kosmos. Exploration

AhmeyimMauritaniaSenegal - Bove Kosmos 1408

It is also a signi? cant ? nd in terms and appraisal is set to continue into 2016

US (GoM West Gulf Coast of gas markets, particularly for Egypt. on Ahmeyim, Kosmos says.

Sicily Chevron 300

Deepwater) Tertiary “All bets are now off in the Eastern

Liza

Mediterranean in terms of the gas mar-

Katambi Angola Kwanza BP 276 ket,” Latham says. Liza might not be top of the rankings,

Liza Guyana GuyanaExxonMobil250

For some time, Egypt, which has LNG however, it is a signi? cant ? nd for export facilities, has been reversing Guyana. It is the ? rst oil discovery in

Atoll Egypt Nile Delta BP 229 pipelines to bring gas into the country, Guyana and is also another play opener because demand has outstripped local and ExxonMobil is reported to be fast-

Isosceles AustraliaNorth CarnarvonChevron 222 supply. Zohr could change the game, tracking a project to unlock its reserves.

Kronos Colombia Sinu Anadarko 176 which had seen Egypt eying importing Liza could also be bigger than the gas from Cyprus and Egypt. ? gures so far released, Latham says. “I

MdalasiniTanzaniaTanzanian CoastalStatoil 172 “And then the open question is ‘how wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out to be

Falklands/ many more Zohr-like prospects are signi? cantly bigger than 250 MMboe,” he

Zebedee North FalklandPremier 106

Malvinas Islands there either in Egypt, Israel or Cyprus,” adds. Guyana’s minister of governance

Latham adds. has in fact suggested the ? eld could

Data from Wood Mackenzie, covers Q1-Q3 end 2015.

December 2015 | OE oedigital.com 52 052_OE1215_Geofocus_Review_New.indd 52 11/20/15 5:36 PM