Page 11 - AfrOil Week 44 2019

AfrOil
NEWS IN BRIEF
AfrOil
agreed to under the company’s PSC extension and the Etame 9H development well will fulfill the company’s commitment for one of the two development wells agreed to under the compa- ny’s PSC extension.
Based on further analysis, the company now has additional positive information regarding the previously-announced results from the res- ervoir analysis. The company now estimates that there is at least a 45-foot (13.17-metre) oil col- umn in the Gamba reservoir with no oil-water contact. This oil column is thicker than predrill expectations and may result in higher ultimate oil recovery from the planned Etame 9H and Etame 11H development wells versus predrill expectations. In addition, preliminary analysis now indicates that VAALCO encountered at least 45 feet (13.17 metres) of good-quality Den- tale oil sands with estimated gross recoverable oil resources of 3.9-14.9mn barrels of oil present in subcropping Dentale reservoirs.
Cary Bounds, Chief Executive Officer, com- mented: “We are pleased to have begun drilling the Etame 9H, our first development well in our 2019/2020 programme, which should add addi- tional production in December. Furthermore, we are encouraged by the updated analysis of the data we obtained on the Gamba and Dentale reservoirs from the Etame 9P appraisal wellbore which should positively impact the estimated ultimate recoverable reserves and resources from the field. We are in the midst of an active work programme drilling the Etame 9H devel- opment well which will be followed by the Etame 11H development well in the same Gamba res- ervoir. We look forward to providing further details on our 2019/2020 drilling programme during our upcoming third quarter conference call scheduled for November 7.”
VAALCO Energy, October 31 2019
SERVICES
Bourbon & Sonasurf in
technological partnership
with Total in Angola
Bourbon & Sonasurf are proud to announce the signing of a three-year co-operation agreement with Total in Angola for the deployment of the Smart shipping programme on five latest-gen- eration supply vessels of the Bourbon Explorer 500 series (DP2-equipped PSVs) operating on Blocks 17 and 32 off the Angolan coast.
Building on technological innovations, Bour- bon’s Smart shipping program has the objective of reinforcing the safety and reliability of oper- ations while reducing cost by 25% over the long term. It aims at: simplifying organisation
on board, notably with the support of digital technology; and transferring ashore functions that are currently carried out on board by con- necting the vessels. It is based on three pillars: operational model aboard the vessel, predictive maintenance and support of onshore opera- tional centres.
Among the innovations and optimisations deployed on the five vessels under contract with Total, some should be highlighted: 1) The use of the dynamic positioning (DP) system: its supervision is mutualised between main- tenance and bridge crews to reinforce the mix of expertise. The system has been reinforced to enable the continuous and remote monitoring of DP’s integrity. 2) The rationalisation of work organisation on board: BOURBON crews have digitalised some of the mandatory bridge’s tasks and have developed applications to simplify the crew’s administrative work and optimise their workload. The elimination of administrative and routine tasks thus enables crews to focus on the supervision of operations. 3) The deployment of a new system of predictive maintenance for the main equipment on board: it enables the reduc- tion of vessel downtime and thus the impact on customer operations by anticipating incidents on equipment that are under constant moni- toring. It is coupled with dedicated organisation onshore.
Deployment of the Smart shipping pro- gramme on this fleet of supply vessels is in line with Total’s willingness to deploy innovative solutions enabling the sustainability of current vessel rates over the long term and thus the con- trol of its production costs.
“This new mode of vessel operation enables us to meet the challenge of controlling costs in the current time of recovering activity. We are very happy to have been able to move forward in collaborative mode with Total on this deploy- ment project in Angola,” states Ivelino Do Nasci- mento, Sonasurf Operations Manager.
Bourbon & Sonasurf, October 29 2019
Shearwater GeoServices
awarded South Africa
seismic project by Total
Shearwater GeoServices Holding has been given a conditional letter of award for a 2D seismic acquisition and fast-track processing project by Total E&P South Africa.
The survey at Block 11B-12B will be Shear- water’s first project offshore South Africa. It has a base duration of two months starting in Q4 2019 and covers an initial program of 3,650 lin- ear km. It will be acquired by the Multi-Purpose Vessel (MPV) SW Cook. The project includes fast-track processing facilitated by the vessel’s
high-capacity onboard computer facility and experienced processing teams linked by satellite to client and project teams.
“The SW Cook worked for Total in the North Sea this summer, and we are very pleased to see it continue to acquire seismic for Total in South Africa on a project where we will also lever- age the flexibility of our Processing & Imaging teams,” said Irene Waage Basili, the CEO of Shearwater GeoServices. “They will provide fast turnaround results to Total during the survey enabling rapid decision making.”
The SW Cook is one of three MPVs oper- ated by Shearwater. The vessel has been work- ing throughout the North Sea summer season on 3D and 4D ocean bottom projects, including as a source vessel on Total’s 2019 North Sea 4D program. The MPVs are designed to work effi- ciently as a source, 2D, 3D, or ocean bottom ves- sel which enables greater utilisation and project flexibility.
Shearwater GeoServices, November 04 2019
POLICY
South African minister
makes a case for
developing gas industry
South African Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe has urged inves- tors to invest in and help develop South Africa’s gas industry. Addressing delegates on the open- ing day of Africa Oil Week in Cape Town today, Mantashe referred to South Africa’s Integrated Resource Plan, which was recently approved by Cabinet and flagged its provision for gas-to- power projects from 2024.
“We intend to establish the first LNG hub in the Coega industrial development zone in the Eastern Cape province,” Mantashe said. The framework for supporting the gas to power pro- gramme would be announced by his department in the near term and linked to this would be an amendment to the Gas Act of 2001, to be tabled in Cabinet soon. On the upstream, work is under way on a Petroleum Resources Development Bill, which will also be before Cabinet soon.
“Gas to power technologies will provide the flexibility required to complement intermit- tent renewable energy and meet demand dur- ing peaking hours,” Mantashe said. “While in the short term the opportunity is to pursue gas import options, local and regional gas resources will allow for scaling up within manageable risk levels. Indigenous gas like coal-bed methane and, ultimately, recoverable shale and coastal gas are options we are considering.”
Africa Oil Week, November 05 2019
Week 44 06•November•2019
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