Page 12 - LatAmOil Week 17 2022

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Hess COO says Shell will spud Zanderij-1

exploration well at Block 42 in mid-2022

SHELL (UK) is gearing up to drill a new explo- with Suriname’s national oil company (NOC)
ration well at the Block 42 licence area offshore Staatsolie.
Suriname later this year, according to Hess (US), Before Shell joined the project, the partners
a non-operating partner in the project. drilled two exploration wells at Block 42. The
Greg Hill, Hess’ COO, explained during the first well, Anapai-1, was spudded in the spring of
US independent’s first-quarter earnings call 2018. It experienced shallow borehole stability
on April 27 that Shell was aiming to spud Zan- issues and had to be respudded as Anapai-1A in
derij-1 around mid-year. He did not specify the June 2018, but it did not encounter commercial
location of the well but said it would target the hydrocarbon deposits. The second well, Ponte-
Campanian and Santonian layers. noe-1, was then spudded in October 2018 but
Shell and its partners are looking most also did not result in a discovery, as it encoun-
closely at these strata to determine whether tered a high-quality reservoir but contained
Block 42 may be an extension of Stabroek, the mostly water.
massive block offshore Guyana where Exxon- Hess has remained optimistic about Block 42
Mobil has made more than 20 commercial dis- despite the failure of the two wells. ™
coveries since 2015, Hill explained. “We see the
acreage as a potential play extension from the
Stabroek block with similar play types and trap
styles,” he said.
He did not say whether Shell had contracted
a rig for the drilling project.
Hess joined the Block 42 project in 2016,
acquiring a 33.33% stake in the licence area
through a farm-in deal with the other two
shareholders, Chevron and Kosmos Energy,
both based in the US. This deal left the equity
split equally between the three partners, with
Kosmos acting as operator.
Shell then acquired Kosmos’ stake and oper-
atorship in late 2020.
The shareholders are carrying out the pro-
ject under a production-sharing contract (PSC) Two exploration wells were drilled at Block 42 in 2018 (Image: Kosmos)

ARGENTINA
Fernandez launches gas pipeline project

ARGENTINIAN President Alberto Fernández industries could not grow without access to
marked the launch of construction work on the energy supplies. By encouraging the growth of
Néstor Kirchner natural gas pipeline last week the domestic energy sector, Argentina will make
during a ceremony at Loma Campana, a field in itself more competitive and able to respond to
the Vaca Muerta shale formation. The project, external fluctuations and crises, the president
which is expected to cost around $3.4bn, will be declared.
financed mostly by the National Treasury. The new pipeline will play a crucial role in the
“We’re sitting on large amounts of gas here process by expanding the country’s gas trans-
today, which are of no use to us if we can’t portation capacity and helping producers meet
transport [them],” Fernández stated during an rising domestic demand, he explained.
address at the ceremony. Economy Minister Martín Guzmán spoke
He went on to refer to the project as an similarly, calling the pipeline the “most impor-
important precursor for economic growth tant infrastructure project in Argentina” in a
in Argentina, explaining that the country’s recorded message from Washington.

P12 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 17 28•April•2022