Gazprom, EDF and Total discuss progress with joint projects

The Gazprom delegation headed by Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Company's Management Committee made a business trip to the French Republic on 14th March.

During the trip, Alexey Miller met with Henri Proglio, Chairman and CEO of EDF.

The meeting was focused on the progress with the South Stream project. Alexey Miller and Henri Proglio noted that construction of the gas pipeline with the maximum throughput of 63 billion cubic meters would be launched in December 2012 in strict adherence to the schedule. The parties also reviewed the prospects for cooperation in the power industry.

As part of the business trip, Alexey Miller also met with Christophe de Margerie, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of Total. The parties discussed the issues of the Shtokman field Phase 1 pre-development.

Source: Gazprom

Posted on 3/15/2012 / 0 comments / Read More

BP to farm-in to Serica’s Luderitz Basin Blocks, offshore Namibia

Serica Energy plc announces that, subject to the consent of the Ministry of Mines and Energy in Namibia, BP will be joining Serica in the exploration of Licence 0047 offshore Namibia by farming-in to Serica’s interest.

The Licence, comprising Blocks 2512A, 2513A, 2513B and 2612A (part), was recently awarded to Serica Energy Namibia B.V. (a wholly owned  subsidiary of Serica)  and covers an area of approximately 17,400 square kilometres in the deep water central Luderitz Basin.  Serica  currently  has an 85% interest in the blocks.  Its partners are the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Pty) Limited  (“NAMCOR”) (10%) and Indigenous Energy (Pty) Limited (“IEPL”) (5%).  Both NAMCOR's and IEPL's interests are carried by Serica for prescribed work programmes.

Under the transaction, BP will pay to Serica a sum covering Serica’s past costs and earn a 30% interest in the Licence by meeting the full cost of an extensive 3D seismic survey.  As a result of the farm-out, Serica's interest in the Licence following completion of the seismic survey will be 55%.   Serica has also announced today that it has signed a contract with Polarcus Seismic Limited to acquire up to 4,150 square kilometres of
3D seismic across the Licence.

The deep water geological basins offshore Namibia, including the Luderitz Basin,  are at  the  early  frontier stage of exploration.  Although the presence of very large structures have been shown to exist from seismic surveys, very few wells have been drilled in the deeper water Namibian basins to date and the full hydrocarbon potential of the area has not yet been fully tested.   Water depths in Serica's Luderitz Basin blocks range from  300 to 3,000 metres.  Drilling in these depths of water, whilst becoming  more commonplace in the industry, requires sophisticated drilling techniques and equipment and is very costly.

Serica has therefore granted an option for BP to increase its interest in the Licence by meeting the full cost of drilling and testing an exploration well to the Barremian level before the end of the first four year exploration period.  In the event that this option is exercised, Serica's interest in the Licence will be 17.5% carried through the first well, which will have very considerable value if the exploration drilling is successful.

Serica will continue to be the operator of the Licence during the initial seismic period with BP taking over as operator if it exercises its option to drill and test a well.

Source: Serica Energy

Posted on 3/15/2012 / 0 comments / Read More

SONARDYNE TAKES FIRST DRILLSHIP ORDER FOR DP INERTIAL NAVIGATION SYSTEM

Sonardyne International has taken its first order for a Dynamic Positioning Inertial Navigation System (DP-INS). Vantage Drilling’s new 12,000 feet-rated drillship, Dragonquest, is set become the first deep water drilling unit in the world to be equipped with the new system when it begins operations in the Gulf of Mexico for Petrobras later this year.

Traditionally, an acoustic positioning system and two separate DGPS systems are used. However, a vulnerability remains should the acoustics be affected by aeration and noise and both GPS systems be simultaneously affected by signal disruption. The latter is particularly common around equatorial regions and during periods of high solar radiation. Solar activity is currently increasing and is forecasted by NASA to peak in 2013.

Consequently, there is a recognised need amongst operators for a third, independent DP reference that would allow safe rejection of a positioning error in one of the other two reference types

DP-INS combines the complementary characteristics of Sonardyne’s Long and Ultra-Short BaseLine (LUSBL) positioning technology, with high integrity inertial measurements from its Lodestar AHRS/INS platform. The resulting output is resilient to short-term acoustic disruptions and completely independent from GPS.

A single navigation solution is computed and output to a display with intuitive status and quality metrics. Standard output telegrams are available for Converteam, L3, Rolls Royce, Navis and Kongsberg DP systems.

In addition to the system’s deep water positioning performance and safety benefits, Sonardyne DP-INS delivers valuable costs savings. It can be used with fewer acoustic transponders deployed on the seabed, significantly reducing set-up time following a vessel’s arrival on location. The system also only needs occasional aiding from the acoustic system, extending transponder battery life and reducing maintenance operations.

Spencer Collins, Senior VP International Sales said, “We are delighted to be installing DP-INS onboard Dragonquest. The trials over the last year have successfully demonstrated to vessel owners and operators like Petrobras, that Sonardyne can now offer acoustically aided INS tailored for safe and efficient dynamic positioning operations.”

Source: Vantage

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Incident on Statfjord C

The leak point that triggered an H2S alarm in the utility shaft on Statfjord C has been identified as a flange to the wall against a storage cell. All mustered personnel on the platform is demobilized.

Four people with breathing equipment have been sent down the shaft to investigate the leak. Local measurements is 8-10 ppm (parts per million).

All personnel have been permitted to call home. Alerted aditional emergency response resources, such as boats and helicopters, are now demobilized.

Statoil will investigate the cause of the leak, and make all necessary repairs that may follow.

Production at the platform remains shut down. It is only output from this platform that is affected. Statfjord C has a daily production rate of 25,000 barrels of oil equivalent.
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First release 
A hydrogen sulphide alarm was reported to Statoil’s emergency centre at 10.39 today from the Statfjord C platform in the Tampen area of the North Sea. The position is now under control.

The 236 people on the platform are all accounted for, and everyone except key personnel required to handle the incident mustered to the lifeboats.

While the platform has been shut down, no personal injuries have been reported. The crew have now left the lifeboats.

Hydrogen sulphide is a toxic gas, and detectors are activated at low concentrations. These are now falling from the initial measurements, and no hydrocarbon leaks have been detected.

The official rescue service and the authorities have been notified about the position, and Statoil’s emergency response organisation is mobilised.
At this point, the most important job for the response team is to establish the overall picture and to mobilise the resources required for further handling of the position.

Statoil’s emergency response leadership deals with all incidents on the basis of a worst-case scenario, and then adjusts the action taken to the way they actually develop.

The weather in the area is good. Vessels and helicopters are available locally to provide support for the platform if required.

Statoil sets clear priorities for crises. Safeguarding the people involved comes first, then the environment, and finally the technical integrity of the installation and the group’s industrial interests.

Source: Statoil

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