Exploration round-up

Eni has reported start-up of its offshore Agogo oil field, situated in the 15/06 Block offshore Angola, just nine months after its discovery. 

Equinor has won consent to drill a well in Block 30/2 in the North Sea. It will drill in production licence PL 878 north-west of the Huldra field. 

BP has spudded its first exploration well on the Shafag-Asiman offshore block in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea. 

Vintage Energy has discovered gas in the Patchawarra Formation in Australia. Vali-1 ST1 reached a TD of 3217 m. Analysis of the data gathered indicated a discovery of more than 35 m of interpreted log net gas pay. 

GeoPark has announced the discovery of the Jauke Oeste gas field in the Fell block in Chile. The Jauke Oeste 1 exploration well had an average production rate of 4.4 million standard cubic feet per day of gas (729 boepd) and 52 bopd of condensate. 

BP and Shell have announced encouraging early production from the Alligin field in the west of Shetland region, offshore UK, reaching 15,000 barrels gross of oil equivalent a day at peak since start-up in late December. 

ExxonMobil has made a further oil discovery in Guyana northeast of the producing Liza field at the Uaru exploration well, the 16th discovery on the Stabroek Block. 

Eni has announced a gas and condensate discovery in the Mahani exploration prospect located onshore in the Area B Concession of Sharjah (UAE). The Mahani-1 was drilled to a total of 14,597 feet measured depth and encountered a thick gas-bearing limestone reservoir in the Thamama of Lower Cretaceous age. 

Iran’s Petropars will develop phase 11 of South Pars, the world’s largest gas field, after the withdrawal of Total and the China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC). 

Neptune Energy has signed an exploration licence with the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) for the North West El Amal Offshore Concession in the Gulf of Suez, thereby growing its presence in North Africa.