Page 10 - NorthAmOil Week 15 2021

NorthAmOil INVESTMENT NorthAmOil

Hess to sell certain Bakken

assets to Enerplus

NORTH DAKOTA US independent Hess announced last week acquisition included 110 net Tier One undrilled
that it had entered into an agreement to sell its locations, of which 77% are operated, and which
Little Knife and Murphy Creek assets in North would “immediately” compete for capital with
Dakota’s Bakken play to Canada’s Enerplus for its existing locations. Enerplus added that the
$312mn. Hess had not been planning to drill on assets would extend its development drilling by
most of this acreage before 2026. an additional 2-3 years based on these Tier One
The assets consist of roughly 78,700 net locations.
acres (318 square km), Hess said in an April 8 The assets also include 120 net operated
statement. The company described the assets as undrilled locations, which Enerplus said were
non-strategic, noting that they were located in economic based on current crude prices, offer-
the southernmost portion of its Bakken posi- ing the potential for “more compelling returns
tion and were not connected to Hess Midstream with the application of modern stimulation and
infrastructure. production technologies”.
Production from the assets averaged 4,500 As a result of the acquisition and its contri-
barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) net to bution to output from May, when it is due to
Hess in the first quarter of 2021. close, Enerplus is increasing its 2021 produc-
“The Bakken is a core asset in our company’s tion guidance to 111,000-115,000 boepd, from
portfolio,” Hess’ CEO, John Hess, said in the 103,500-108,500 boepd previously. This includes
company’s statement. “Sale of the Little Knife 68,500-71,500 barrels per day of liquids, up from
and Murphy Creek acreage – the majority of 63,000-67,000 bpd previously. The company also
which we were not planning to drill before 2026 cited its “strong operating performance” in North
– brings material value forward and further Dakota and higher-than-expected production in
strengthens our cash and liquidity position.” the Marcellus shale over the first quarter of 2021
For Enerplus, the assets are located adjacent as reasons for raising its guidance.
to its core Bakken position. They are centred on It has revised its capital spending for the year,
Dunn County. The Canadian company said the to $360-400mn from $335-385mn previously.™

PROJECTS & COMPANIES

Platform for BP’s Mad Dog 2 arrives in US

GULF OF MEXICO THE Argos platform, which will serve BP’s Mad up to 14 wells at its peak. The project has expe-
Dog 2 project in the US Gulf of Mexico, has com- rienced some delays, having initially been antic-
pleted its journey from South Korea to the US. ipated to enter service in late 2021, but is now
The semi-submersible floating production set to start up in the second quarter of 2022. BP
unit (FPU) travelled 16,000 miles (25,750 km) noted that recovery will be boosted by injecting
to the Kiewit Offshore Services fabrication yard 140,000 bpd of processed seawater into the res-
in Ingleside, Texas. There, the platform, which ervoir through water injection wells, adopting
weighs 60,000 tons (54,431 tonnes) and was built the super-major’s proprietary LoSal ® Enhanced
by Samsung Heavy Industries, will undergo final Oil Recovery technology.
preparatory work and regulatory inspections Mad Dog 2 will be connected to existing
before heading offshore. nearby pipeline infrastructure.
In an April 12 statement, BP hailed the arrival Separately, BP discovered oil at the Puma
of the FPU as a significant milestone towards the West prospect, located west of the Mad Dog
completion of Mad Dog 2. The project, which field in Green Canyon Block 821, this week.
was sanctioned in 2016, involves the installation The super-major owns a 50% operated interest
of a second platform – Argos – at the Mad Dog in Puma West, and drilled the well on behalf of
field, around 6 miles (10 km) from the existing partners Chevron and Talos Energy, which hold
Mad Dog platform, which is located roughly 190 25% stakes each.
miles (306 km) offshore New Orleans, Louisiana. The well was drilled to a total depth of 23,530
The existing platform is installed in water depths feet (7,172 metres), and BP said it had encoun-
of 4,500 feet (1,372 metres). tered oil pay in a “high-quality Miocene reser-
Mad Dog 2 will have the capacity to produce voir with fluid properties similar to productive
up to 140,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil from Miocene reservoirs” nearby.™

P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 15 15•April•2021