Africa (Sub-Sahara) Sonangol's deepwater Orca-1 well encountered oil in the presalt layer of Block 20/11 in the Cuanza basin offshore Angola. The well reached a measured depth of 12,703 ft. Initial well tests saw flow rates of 16.3 MMcm/D of gas and 3,700 BOPD. Cobalt International Energy (40%) is the operator, with partners Sonangol Research and Production (30%) and BP Exploration Angola (30%). Asia Pacific Premier Oil's Kuda Laut-1 well in Indonesia's Tuna production sharing contract has encountered 183 net ft of oil-bearing reservoir and 327 net ft of gas-bearing reservoir. Following evaluation operations, the well will be sidetracked to drill the Singa Laut prospect in an adjacent fault block. Premier is the operator (65%), with partner Mitsui Oil Exploration Company (35%).

Africa (Sub-Sahara) Eni Congo discovered oil at its Minsala Marine 1 well offshore the Republic of the Congo in Marine XII Block 12 km from the operator's recent Nené Marine discovery. Minsala intersected 420 m of gross pay and encountered light oil in a Lower Cretaceous presalt sequence. The well reached a total depth of 3700 m. Eni (65%) is operator, with state-owned partner SNPC 25%), and New Age (African Global Energy) Limited (10%). SOCO EPC's Lindongo X Marine 101 Well (LXM-101)--located offshore the Republic of Congo in Marine XI Block--encountered oil in a clastic sequence of the Djeno sands, with early log interpretation indicating approximately 50 m of gross pay.

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.

A vertical, cylindrical vessel that recovers heavier (longer carbon chain) hydrocarbons from a mixture of lighter hydrocarbons.

The past decade could be best described as an interesting time in the history of the oil and gas industry, and for the energy industry in general. In oil and gas, we've gone from plentiful times when oil prices were high and exploration was booming, into a price crash, which, in hindsight, may have been inevitable. Under the typical boom and bust cycles we've grown accustomed to, we would expect to be coming back into a time of plenty in the industry, but this time it feels different. The rise in climate awareness and the transition into cleaner sources of energy has almost created a perfect storm for oil and gas. We know that the world still needs hydrocarbons, and there will probably always be a demand to make the daily items we rely on, such as plastics and pharmaceuticals.

Carlos Pérez Garcia, Ecuador’s Minister of Hydrocarbons, discussed the direction of his country’s upstream oil development effort in a recent interview with JPT. In a talk to SPE’s Gulf Coast Section International Interest Group, Ecuador’s Minister of Hydrocarbons outlined his country’s push to attract international oil and gas investment.

Conventional and unconventional hydrocarbons are likely to remain the main component of the energy mix needed to meet the growing global energy demand in the next 50 years. The worldwide production of crude oil could drop by nearly 40 million B/D by 2020 from existing projects, and an additional 25 million B/D of oil will need to be produced for the supply to keep pace with consumption. Scientific breakthroughs and technological innovations are needed, not only to secure supply of affordable hydrocarbons, but also to minimize the environmental impact of hydrocarbon recovery and utilization. The lifecycle of an oilfield is typically characterized by three main stages: production buildup, plateau production, and declining production. Sustaining the required production levels over the duration of the lifecycle requires a good understanding of and the ability to control the recovery mechanisms involved. For primary recovery (i.e., natural depletion of reservoir pressure), the lifecycle is generally short and the recovery factor does not exceed 20% in most cases.

Energy sources are vital to sustain and grow the world economy. As of today, the world mainly relies on fossil fuel as the source of energy for transportation, power generation, chemicals manufacturing, and other industrial applications. The conventional sources of hydrocarbon are steadily declining; however, the oil and gas industry has been successful in finding unconventional hydrocarbons, such as heavy oil and shale gas. There are distinct challenges in producing and processing the hydrocarbons from unconventional sources into usable end products. Reducing the footprint during the production of oil, refined products, and gas will benefit the industry by reducing the overall cost and improving the health, safety, and environmental impact.

Africa (Sub-Sahara) Oil and gas was discovered at the Nene' Marine exploration prospect located in the Marine XII Block offshore Congo. The prospect is estimated to hold 600 million bbl of oil and 700 Bcf of gas. The well was drilled to a total depth of 3031 m and encountered a pre-saline clastic sequence of Lower Cretaceous age. Eni (65%) is the operator in partnership with New Age (25%) and Societé Nationale des Pétroles du Congo (10%). Gas was discovered at the Mkizi-1 well in Block 1 off Tanzania. The well encountered gas pay in three reservoir intervals within a Tertiary aged stacked channel complex. Total net pay was 108 ft. Ophir (40%) is the operator in partnership with BG Group (60%).

Africa (Sub-Sahara) Drilling began in the SL-5-11 block in the deepwater shelf of west Africa. The targeted depth is 4700 m in water depths of more than 2000 m. Lukoil Overseas (49%) is the operator in partnership with Oranto (30%) and PanAtlantic (21%). Asia Pacific Drilling began on an exploration well in Block G4/50 in the Gulf of Thailand. The planned depth is 2350 m targeting Miocene sandstones. The well is estimated to contain mean prospective recoverable resources of 30 million bbl of oil. Salamander Energy is the operator with a 100% interest. Drilling has been completed on the Klalin-14 development well located in the West Papua region of Indonesia. The well encountered 81 ft of total net pay and tested production rates of 9.8 MMscf/D of natural gas and 220 B/D of condensate on a 24/64-in.