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Posts Tagged ‘Statoil’

Cuba Watch – Add Petronas to the drilling lineup

Posted in cuba, tagged , , , , , , , on November 19, 2010| Leave a Comment »

According to CubaStandard.com, we can add Petronas, with Gazprom as a major partner, to the list of companies that will be drilling offshore Cuba next year.  So, as best we can determine, beginning in 2011 the following companies will be using Saipen’s Scarabeo 9 to drill wells offshore Cuba:

  1. Repsol (Spain) with Statoil (Norway) and ONGC (India) each holding a 30% interest
  2. PdVSA (Venezuela)
  3. Petronas (Malaysia ) with Gazprom (Russia) holding a 30% interest

Contrary to our energy, economic, and environmental interests, the US continues to prohibit governmental consultations on these important issues and participation by US companies in any aspect of Cuban offshore operations.

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1962 Letter from Phillips Petroleum to Norway: Have we got a deal for you!

Posted in Norway, Offshore Energy - General, tagged , , , , , , on November 19, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Yesterday, I was fortunate to receive a copy of Bjørn Vidar Lerøen’s excellent book “Drops of Black Gold” which chronicles the history of Statoil and Norwegian offshore oil and gas development.  Of particular interest was a letter on page 17 of the book (not available online) that I had heard about but hadn’t seen. The letter, dated October 29, 1962, is from Phillips Petroleum to the chairman of a Norwegian government committee considering offshore oil and gas exploration.

Phillips’ request is quoted below.  You have to give  Phillips high marks for taking an aggressive negotiating position (or was it pure chutzpah?).  No small lease blocks for them.  Phillips asked for the whole Norwegian shelf including any future additions! And what would they offer in return – a seismic survey program costing an estimated $1 million.

We have reason for believing that the geologic basin in which large reserves of natural gas have been discovered in Holland may be extended northward into the Norwegian portion of the North Sea. Therefore, Phillips Petroleum Company is interested in obtaining from the Norwegian government an oil and gas concession covering the lands lying beneath the territorial waters of Norway plus that portion of the continental shelf lying beneath the North Sea which may now or in the future belong to or be under the control of Norway.

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Statoil Publishes Report on Gullfaks C Incident

Posted in accidents, well control incidents, tagged , , , , on November 8, 2010| Leave a Comment »

The incident occurred on 19 May 2010.  We appreciate Statoil’s timely completion and public release of the report.  The report is in Norwegian, but an English summary is provided.

What happened:

  1. A platform well on Gullfaks C was drilled in managed pressure drilling (MPD) mode to a total depth of 4800 meters.
  2. During the final circulation and hole cleaning of the reservoir section, a leak in the 13 3/8” casing resulted in loss of drilling fluid (mud) to the formation.
  3. The loss of back pressure led to an influx of hydrocarbons from the exposed reservoirs until solids or cuttings packed off the well by the 9 5/8” liner shoe.
  4. The well control operation continued for almost two months before the well barriers were reinstated.

Statoil’s near-term action items:

  1. Develop new acceptance criteria and best practices for MPD on Gullfaks.
  2. Update pressure prognoses for the field.
  3. Document that the shear ram is capable of cutting the drill string.
  4. Change the shift relief plan for the Drilling Supervisor and Toolpusher on Gullfaks C.
  5. Review the procedures for communication and mustering with the emergency preparedness organization.

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