Africa (Sub-Sahara) Eni started production from the West Hub development project's Mpungi field in Block 15/06 offshore Angola. The startup follows the project's first oil from the Sangos field in November 2014 and the Cinguvu field last April. Mpungi will ramp up West Hub oil production to 100,000 B/D in the first quarter from a previous level of 60,000 B/D. The project also includes the future development of the Mpungi North, Ochigufu, and Vandumbu fields. Eni is the block operator with a 36.84% stake. Sonangol (36.84%) and SSI Fifteen (26.32%) hold the other stakes.

Africa (Sub-Sahara) Kosmos Energy has made a significant deepwater gas discovery off Senegal. The Guembeul-1 well in the northern part of the St. Louis Offshore Profond license in 8,858 ft of water encountered 331 net ft of gas pay in two excellent-quality reservoirs, the company reported. The results demonstrate reservoir continuity and static pressure communication with the Tortue-1 well, which suggests a single gas accumulation. The mean gross resource estimate for the Greater Tortue complex has risen to 17 Tcf from 14 Tcf as a result of the Guembeul discovery, the company said. Kosmos, the operator, has a 60% interest in the well. Timis (30%) and Petrosen (10%) hold the remaining interest. In Salah Gas has started production from its Southern fields in Algeria.

Africa (Sub-Sahara) Tullow's Cheptuket-1 well in Block 12A of northern Kenya has encountered good oil shows over an almost 2,300‑ft interval, the company reported. The first well to test the Kerio Valley Basin, Cheptuket-1 was drilled to a final depth of 10,114 ft. The results indicate the presence of an active petroleum system with significant oil generation, the company said. Post-well analysis now under way will affect future basin exploration decisions. Tullow is the block operator with a 40% interest. Delonex Energy (40%) and Africa Oil (20%) are the other participants.

Africa (Sub-Sahara) Petroceltic International said that the first of up to 24 new development wells planned in Algeria's Ain Tsila gas and condensate field was successful. The AT-10 well, situated about 2 miles from the AT-1 field discovery well, reached a total depth of 6,578 ft. Wireline logs indicated that the expected initial offtake rate would be comparable to the AT-1 and AT-8 wells, both of which test-flowed at more than 30 MMcf/D. Petroceltic is the operator with a 38.25% interest in the production-sharing contract that covers the Ain Tsila output. The remaining interests are held by Sonatrach (43.375%) and Enel (18.375%). Sonangol reported that it has found reserves in the Kwanza Basin of Angola that could total 2.2 billion BOE, including reserves in a block jointly owned with BP. Block 24, operated by BP, holds an estimated 280 million bbl of condensate and 8 Tcf of gas, totaling 1.7 billion BOE, Sonangol said in a statement seen by Reuters.

Industrial blockchain network Data Gumbo has facilitated real-time tracking of lease operating expenses for oil and gas operators by using validated field-operating data to trigger automated payments based on agreed terms. The agreement will use IBM’s hybrid-cloud technology and Red Hat’s OpenShift platform to expand access to Schlumberger’s Delfi exploration and production software suite. Advanced machine-learning methods combined with aspects of game theory are helping operators understand the drivers of water production and improve forecasting and economics in unconventional basins. The Norwegian company completed what it describes as the world’s first logistics operation with a drone to an offshore installation. Using 3D and artificial intelligence technologies, a digital map of all three bridge-linked jackets was captured, enabling Neptune to detect asset-integrity issues early and plan fabric maintenance work on Cygnus. In this 30-minute interview, Angela Dang Atkinson, a data scientist with Cognite, talks about what skills beyond technology new petroleum engineers need and what challenges they will face in the digital oil field. The Oil and Gas Technology Centre’s first virtual hackathon—Code[Less]—will take place 21–24 September, with 75 participants teaming up to solve challenges, without using coding, to raise awareness of the demand for automation and innovation in the energy sector.

A new open innovation studio aims to use crowdsourcing to redefine the future of oil and gas exploration. To provide condition monitoring and combat fouling, the robot clings and moves along the hull walls. It is controlled via a 4G connection to clean and inspect the walls in line with individual vessel schedules developed through a proprietary algorithm and big data. The maritime technology company successfully completed a remote deadweight audit for a semisubmersible oil and gas drilling rig. Believed to be the first of its kind, the remote survey was developed in response to travel and social-distancing restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The dynamic nature of unconventional-reservoir developments calls for the availability of fast and reliable history-matching methods for simulation models. In this paper, the authors apply an assisted-history-matching approach to a pair of wells in the Wolfcamp formation. Decline-curve analysis is one of the more widely used forms of data analysis that evaluates well behavior and forecasts production and reserves. Companies that fail to understand the differences between data privacy and data security put their brands and bottom lines in jeopardy. To deliver digital twin technology for the upstream oil and gas markets, the Doris Group, Schneider Electric, and AVEVA are entering into a strategic partnership.

Data scientists working with large data sets or in high-performance computational environments may find these programming languages essential to extracting data quickly and effortlessly. What Is an "Edge Cloud?" It would literally be a world full of data centers, including the largest and the smallest varieties. But whose networks would they be? The answer depends on where these data centers are—or perhaps vice versa.

InfraStrata has spudded the Woodburn Forest-1 well in County Antrim in Northern Ireland, the United Kingdom. With a planned well depth of 6,561 ft, the drilling targets three conventional sandstone intervals. P50 prospective resources targeted by the well are estimated at 25 million bbl of oil. After drilling, the well will be plugged and abandoned and the site will be restored to its former state. Should results be favorable, additional consent and plan approval will be needed for further activity such as testing.

Africa (Sub-Sahara) Sound Energy identified significant gas shows at the first Tendrara well onshore Morocco. Drilled to a 2665-m measured vertical depth, the well hit a total gross pay interval of 89 m of gas. The full set of well logs are being processed before the startup of rigless mechanical reservoir stimulation operations, which will be followed by a well test. The company is the operator of the well with a 55% working interest. Office National de HydroCarbures et des Mines (25%) and (20%) are the other participants. Petroceltic reported that the AT-13 well in Algeria has penetrated a 240-ft gas- and condensate-bearing formation. The well will help establish and maintain the approved annual average wet gas plateau rate of 355 MMcf/D from the Ain Tsila field.