15_01_22_ThreeTalks

GWL Cluster Meeting

Thursday 18th December, 2014; 6:00 for 6:30 pm

“A Tale of Ten Prospects; from the first UK onshore to the present day”

This presentation will take place in the Royal Cambrian Academy, Conwy.

Refreshments will be available from 6:00 pm.

 Speaker overview:

Stephen Corfield is a consultant based in Staffordshire. He graduated in 1986 with an Earth Sciences degree from Oxford Polytechnic and subsequently gained a PhD from the University of Keele on the structure and basin evolution of the North Staffordshire coalfield.

This was followed by post-doctoral research from 1991-194 at the University of Manchester funded by Conoco during which time he set up the department’s first 3D seismic interpretation workstation.

He worked at Robertsons’s from 1994 to 2001 which included four years of commuting to Norway to consult for Norsk Hydro.

In 2001, he returned to Manchester to set up a Norsk Hydro funded 3D seismic lab with a small team of researchers.

Since 2003, he has been a consultant working mainly for Norsk Hydro (now Statoil) in Bergen and London and Foster Findlay Associates in Aberdeen.

Abstract:

Although the first offshore exploration wells in the UK were drilled in the 1960’s, the story of UK onshore exploration goes back much further to the days of the First World War. This first phase of oil exploration from 1918-22 has been relatively undocumented and has been overshadowed by the later activities of the D’Arcy Exploration Company (subsequently BP) from the late 1930’s onwards.

The purpose of this talk is to redress the balance and take a look at the ten prospects drilled and their history to the present day.

The talk will will review the structures and wells drilled using data from the 1920’s plus more recent seismic data and conclude with a comment on the recently completed licensing round.

GWL Cluster Meeting

Thursday 20^th November, 2014; 6:00 for 6:30 pm

“The North Celtic Sea Basin, a Resurgent Proven Hydrocarbon Province”

This presentation will take place in the Mostyn Art Gallery, 12 Vaughan Street, Llandudno.

Refreshments will be available from 6:00 pm.  Please note the change of venue for this month’s talk caused by the Cambrian Academy again not being available.

 Speaker & company overview:

Steve Boldy is C.E.O of Lansdowne Oil & Gas Limited, an exploration and production company focused on the Celtic Sea Offshore Ireland, which is listed on AIM in London.

After completing a B.Sc in geology at London University, he gained an M.Sc in sedimentology from Reading University and a Ph.D in geology from Trinity College Dublin.

Steve commenced working on the Irish Offshore in 1980 at the Petroleum Affairs Division of the Irish Department of Energy. He moved to Amerada Hess in London in 1984 and worked there for 19 years, primarily on NW Europe, but also on projects in South America, Africa and SE Asia.

In 2003 he returned to Ireland as Vice President Ireland for Ramco and he led the flotation of Lansdowne Oil & Gas in 2006. Lansdowne participated in the 48/24-10z Barryroe Field appraisal well, operated by Providence Resources that was completed in 2012 and tested at flow rates of close to 4,000 boepd. The Celtic Sea has seen a rejuvenation of activity, with increased licensing and the first acquisition of extensive 3D seismic surveys and this is expected to lead to further drilling.

Abstract:

Exploration in the shallow water North Celtic Sea Basin (NCSB) off the south coast of Ireland started in the early 1970’s and was quickly rewarded with the discovery of the Kinsale Head gas field by the third well drilled in the basin (48/25-2) in 1971. Gas in the Kinsale Head Field is contained in Lower Cretaceous reservoir sands and the field commenced production in 1978.

Exploration continued through the 1970’s primarily focused on inversion structures, similar to Kinsale Head and this led to the discovery of additional gas and deeper oil in the Seven Heads structure. The oil is waxy in nature, the product of Upper Jurassic lacustrine shales.

Once onstream the Kinsale Head Field fulfilled demand for gas in Ireland and in the 1980’s the exploration effort focused on searching for oil. Furthermore, spurred on by the success of Wytch Farm in Dorset, attention focused on earlier tilted fault block structures that had not been impacted to any great degree by the later effects of basin inversion in the Cenozoic. This led to the discovery of the Jurassic Helvick oil field with the drilling of the 49/9-2 well in 1983, the peak year for exploration in the NCSB with 7 wells drilled. The oil in the Helvick discovery is a low-wax, typical marine crude oil sourced from the Liassic shales.

Therefore, by the mid 1980’s three working petroleum systems had been established in the NCS, but exploration activity declined gradually through to the mid 1990’s when drilling ceased altogether for a number of years.

Since 2000 the basin has undergone a rejuvenation of activity with increased licensing, the first extensive acquisition of 3D seismic and a return to drilling.

The talk will review the history of activity, discuss the petroleum systems and discuss future potential and activity.

GWL Cluster Meeting

Date: TBC; 6:00 for 6:30 pm at the RCA, Crown Lane, Conwy

“The North Celtic Sea Basin, a Resurgent Proven Hydrocarbon Province”

Speaker Overview:

Steve Boldy is C.E.O of Lansdowne Oil & Gas Limited, an exploration and production company focused on the Celtic Sea Offshore Ireland, which is listed on AIM in London.

After completing a B.Sc in geology at London University, he gained an M.Sc in sedimentology from Reading University and a Ph.D in geology from Trinity College Dublin.

Steve commenced working on the Irish Offshore in 1980 at the Petroleum Affairs Division of the Irish Department of Energy. He moved to Amerada Hess in London in 1984 and worked there for 19 years, primarily on NW Europe, but also on projects in South America, Africa and SE Asia.

In 2003 he returned to Ireland as Vice President Ireland for Ramco and he led the flotation of Lansdowne Oil & Gas in 2006. Lansdowne participated in the 48/24-10z Barryroe Field appraisal well, operated by Providence Resources that was completed in 2012 and tested at flow rates of close to 4,000 boepd. The Celtic Sea has seen a rejuvenation of activity, with increased licensing and the first acquisition of extensive 3D seismic surveys and this is expected to lead to further drilling.

Abstract:

Exploration in the shallow water North Celtic Sea Basin (NCSB) off the south coast of Ireland started in the early 1970’s and was quickly rewarded with the discovery of the Kinsale Head gas field by the third well drilled in the basin (48/25-2) in 1971. Gas in the Kinsale Head Field is contained in Lower Cretaceous reservoir sands and the field commenced production in 1978.

Exploration continued through the 1970’s primarily focused on inversion structures, similar to Kinsale Head and this led to the discovery of additional gas and deeper oil in the Seven Heads structure. The oil is waxy in nature, the product of Upper Jurassic lacustrine shales.

Once onstream the Kinsale Head Field fulfilled demand for gas in Ireland and in the 1980’s the exploration effort focused on searching for oil. Furthermore, spurred on by the success of Wytch Farm in Dorset, attention focused on earlier tilted fault block structures that had not been impacted to any great degree by the later effects of basin inversion in the Cenozoic. This led to the discovery of the Jurassic Helvick oil field with the drilling of the 49/9-2 well in 1983, the peak year for exploration in the NCSB with 7 wells drilled. The oil in the Helvick discovery is a low-wax, typical marine crude oil sourced from the Liassic shales.

Therefore, by the mid 1980’s three working petroleum systems had been established in the NCS, but exploration activity declined gradually through to the mid 1990’s when drilling ceased altogether for a number of years.

Since 2000 the basin has undergone a rejuvenation of activity with increased licensing, the first extensive acquisition of 3D seismic and a return to drilling.

The talk will review the history of activity, discuss the petroleum systems and discuss future potential and activity.

GWL Cluster Meeting

Thursday, 22nd May 2014; 6:00 for 6:30 pm at the RCA, Crown Lane, Conwy

Mongolia: Frontier Exploration Potential in an Emerging Economy

Abstract:

Mongolia is emerging from the Soviet era with a fast growing economy driven by the mining sector. The country, however, imports nearly 100% of its refined products from Russia, and exports its limited domestic crude production to China. There is a strong need to rebalance this situation as well as to prove up further reserves.

Currently a large number of sedimentary basins have been identified which still have limited or no seismic and few wells. Field work in frontier areas has proven super rich lacustrine oil shales of Upper Jurassic – Lower Cretaceous age interbedded with thick high porosity sandstones. These are stratigraphically equivalent to the proven petroleum system in Eastern and Southeastern Mongolia, as well as in many Chinese basins to the south. There is also an older petroleum system of Permian-Jurassic age proven in many Chinese basins which, although unproven in Mongolia, may also be present from field studies.

GWL Cluster Meeting

Thursday, 17^th April 2014; 6:00 for 6:30 pm at the RCA, Crown Lane, Conwy

Geochemistry and Hydrocarbon Exploration Status in Tanzania by Meshack Kagya

GWL Cluster Meeting

Thursday, 20^th March 2014; 6:00 for 6:30 pm at the RCA, Crown Lane, Conwy

Geology and petroleum systems of the Falkland Islands Basins

Speaker Profile:

Colin More is Technical Director at Falkland Oil and Gas Limited (FOGL), a company solely focused on exploration offshore the Falklands.  He is a geologist by training (BSc Glasgow, 1982; MSc Aberdeen, 1983) who, after a brief flirtation with geochemistry (1984), moved into geophysics and then exploration management.  He worked for Conoco, Cairn Energy and Paladin in various exploration and appraisal roles, before joining FOGL in early 2006.  His experience takes in numerous basins types worldwide, from intra-cratonic rifts in Sudan, China, India, UK and Thailand to thrust belts in Turkey and passive margins in NW Europe, West Africa and South Asia.  He relishes the opportunity to take a frontier basin from first commercial seismic survey, through first well, to one day (maybe), first oil in the East Falklands Basin.

Abstract:

The basins offshore the Falkland Islands can be divided into two groups.  The South and East Falklands Basins were formed during early break up of Gondwana, as Antarctica separated from the ‘African’ continent.  The South and East Falklands Basins then developed as passive margins from the Middle Jurassic, initially to the Weddell Sea but subsequently, after final separation of South America from South Africa, to the South Atlantic.  The North Falklands (NFB) Basin in contrast formed in the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous as a continental rift associated with the opening of the South Atlantic.

The fill of the East Falkland Basin is thought to be entirely marine.  The first wells in the basin were drilled as part of the ODP/DSDP programme on Maurice Ewing Bank on the eastern tip of the South American plate.  These wells revealed the presence of rich, upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous marine source rocks.  Acreage in the basin was first licensed in 2002, the first seismic was acquired in 2004 and the first commercial well was drilled in 2010.  This well (Toroa-1) demonstrated the presence of thick, good quality, Lower Cretaceous, shelfal sandstones derived from Palaeozoic quartzitic sediments which are preserved on the Falkland Islands.  This set up the main play currently being targeted in the basin: Lower Cretaceous deep marine, slope channels and basin floor fans, sitting within and above the Lower Cretaceous source rocks, proven in the DSDP wells and in the offset Magallanes basin in Argentina.

The first wells were drilling in the NFB in 1998 and although no commercial discoveries were made the key elements of a working hydrocarbon system were proven.  The basin is predominantly filled with lacustrine and fluvial sediments with fully marine conditions only established in the Tertiary.  The primary source rocks in the NFB are Lower Cretaceous (Barremian to Valanginian) lacustrine, oil-prone, algal shales deposited within the early post-rift sequence.  These extraordinarily rich source rocks are mature for oil generation below 2500m but it is the juxtaposition of source and reservoir that could make the NFB a prolific province.  Lacustrine reservoirs, shed as fans from a fringing shelf on the eastern basin margin and inter-bedded with the mature source rocks, are the current focus of exploration.  The billion barrel (STOIIP) Sea Lion field, discovered by Rockhopper Exploration in 2010, is testament to the effectiveness of the play.

This talk will focus on the East Falklands Basin where the Noble Energy, Edison SPA and Falkland Oil and Gas joint venture has recently acquired over 10,000sqkm of 3D seismic.  However, the basin and plays will be compared and contrasted with the coeval NFB.  The 2012 drilling campaign (South and East Falklands Basins) demonstrated the presence of a working petroleum system.  The Scotia (FOGL), Loligo (FOGL) and Stebbing (Borders and Southern) wells contained gas and the Darwin well (Borders and Southern) discovered a very rich, gas condensate.  The current play focus may be the Lower Cretaceous deep water systems but numerous other plays have barley been tested; like the Tertiary anticlines in the southern fold belt (Scotia Sea margin) and classic titled fault blocks in Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous shelfal sands.

In frontier exploration, understanding the early basin evolution can be as important to success as prospect mapping on modern 3D.  Plate models, play models and prospect examples will be presented to illustrate what could become a major new petroleum province in the South Atlantic.