Page 14 - LatAmOil Week 18 2020.pdf

LatAmOil
NEWS IN BRIEF
LatAmOil
UPSTREAM
Mexico: Eni’s Ehecatl-1
exploration well on Block 7
disappoints
JV partner Cairn Energy reports that operations have been completed on the Eni operated Ehe- catl-1 exploration well on Block 7, located in the Sureste Basin Offshore Mexico, in which Cairn has a 30% working interest through wholly owned subsidiary Capricorn Energy Mexico.
The exploration target of the well was to prove hydrocarbons in the Lower Miocene. The well did not find reservoired hydrocarbons and it has now been permanently plugged and abandoned.
Logging, sampling and data collection during the well operations will help the joint venture cal- ibrate the seismic data and develop an improved understanding of the Lower Miocene target and the information gathered will be integrated to improve the understanding of the Block and inform the second well decision.
The well is located 65 km offshore and was drilled by the Valaris 8505 semi-submersible rig in water depth of 426 metres and reached a total depth of 4,451 metres.
Cairn Energy, May 05 2020
Ascent Resources signs MoU on Cuban licences
Ascent Resources, the onshore Caribbean/His- panic American and European oil and gas com- pany, has announced the execution of a binding Memorandum of Understanding (‘MOU’)
directly with the Cuban national oil and gas company (CUPET), securing exclusive rights to three additional onshore licences.
On April 14, 2020, the Company announced its first acquisition in its wider international strategy with the acquisition of an exclusive MOU on Block 9b, a producing onshore Cuban oil licence. This licence, located on the North coast of Cuba, contains the onshore Majaguillar and San Anton fields and is currently producing 190 bpd from three wells.
The Company also announced that it viewed Cuba as one of the last remaining untapped hydrocarbon provinces of scale and that it was in negotiations with CUPET regarding a variety of other onshore blocks.
The Company has now signed a binding MOU with CUPET granting exclusive rights for six months to negotiate multiple Produc- tion Sharing Contracts (PSCs) over the onshore Blocks 9a, 12 and 15. This is in addition to the MOU on Block 9b recently secured via the recent purchase of Energetical.
The combination of Blocks 9a, 9b, 12 and 15 positions the Company with exclusive nego- tiating rights to potentially one of the largest non-state-owned, onshore Cuban portfolios. The portfolio provides a blend of existing pro- duction for low risk redevelopment with sig- nificant upside potential for both appraisal and exploration. The portfolio is consistent with the Company’s strategy of counter cyclical acquisi- tive growth with a focus on low cost production, manageable initial capital commitments and near term high inflection growth potential.
Blocks 9a, 12 and 15 are all onshore licences that sit on the North coast of Cuba and there- fore benefit from a proven hydrocarbon system with multiple historic wells with oil shows and
on trend with adjacent blocks that are either pro- ducing or have successful discoveries.
It is anticipated that the PSC negotiations will take place over the coming 6 months. As part of these negotiations, the Company will apply for operator status in Cuba, while building an inte- grated subsurface model, incorporating struc- tural, Geochem and well data. It is expected the PSCs will be granted with no up front cost / sign on bonuses and manageable capital commit- ments, focused initially on identifying a prospect inventory and redevelopment plan for Block 9b.
Block 9a is an onshore block situated adjacent to acreage with a proven hydrocarbon system and on trend with the Varadero producing oil field. The Northern portion of the block is most prospective with limited but modern seismic data already available and approximately 30 his- toric wells which have penetrated primarily the shallow subsurface. Many of these wells encoun- tered oil shows. Having conducted an initial review of the available data and in consultation with CUPET further prospectivity has been identified in the traditional Placetus carbonate reservoirs and in overlying fractured volcanic/ ophiolite plays of the Zaza tectonic structural unit (TSU).
Block 12 is a high potential onshore block with opportunities in multiple plays; Zaza (Ophiolite), Placetas, Camajuani and Remedios tectonic stratigraphic units. The block has been drilled nine times, all of which were pre-1960s and all of which exhibited oil shows. Encourag- ingly, adjacent blocks have been drilled in more recent years with oil shows and discoveries hav- ing been made. The Company has identified the potential to generate a portfolio of exploration prospects after evaluation of the existing seismic and well data, including seismic reprocessing and structural modelling.
Block 15 is an onshore exploration block with good quality seismic across the central part and 3 historic wells. The Company has identified the northern half of the block as the most attractive section with initial analysis highlighting poten- tial in multiple play types of the Remedios, Place- tus and Camajuani tectonic structural units. Again this potential could be unlocked follow- ing reprocessing of the seismic data, integrating existing well data, and structurally modelling the subsurface.
The Company will shortly issue a revised investor presentation which will be found on the company’s website.
Andrew Dennan, the Company’s Chief Executive, commented: “This is good news that builds additional strategic momentum further to our recently announced MOU on Block 9b in Cuba, and we look forward to rapidly estab- lishing and broadening our portfolio in-country, counter-cyclically.”
Ascent Resources, April 30 2020
P14
w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m
Week 18 07•May•2020