Roxar opens Venezuelan training center
Roxar is opening of a new training center in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela. The new facility is in response to increasing customer demand throughout the region for Roxar’s reservoir modeling and simulation products, including IRAP RMS™ and Tempest™. The Puerto La Cruz facility is Roxar’s first software training center in South America.
The center will provide technical support and training across Roxar’s entire software portfolio to geologists, reservoir engineers, geophysicists, and drilling engineers from the region’s national oil companies and multinationals. Training programs are structured to focus on the reasons for building quality reservoir models as much as the software skills to achieve them.
The training programs, in both Spanish and English, have also been extended to incorporate new software modules - RMSfaultseal™, which analyzes fault zone properties within the integrated reservoir model and FracPerm™, an integrated package enabling geologists and reservoir engineers to incorporate the effects of fractures into mainstream 3D modeling and simulation activities.
Roxar is an international technology solutions provider to the upstream oil and gas industry. With its head offices in Stavanger, Norway, Roxar has over 500 employees across offices in Europe, the Americas, Africa, CIS, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East. Founded in May 1999, the company generated revenues of approximately US$120 million in 2005.
Digital Oilfield introduces new application to manage, schedule, and coordinate projects
Digital Oilfield Inc. introduces new technology to coordinate all details of single projects and multi project programs, including drilling programs.
ProjectAccelerator is a Web-based application specifically designed for the global E&P industry that provides a shared, collaborative environment for access to critical project information. ProjectAccelerator allows all parties to share schedules and technical requirements, as well as to track project status, task assignment, and completion. With ProjectAccelerator, users manage processes across the entire oilfield lifecycle, from initial exploration to final tie-in and production, or they can focus the solution to manage business processes within a specific department or sub-process.
In addition to Project Accelerator’s business process optimization capabilities, the ability to visualize progress and resources is provided through a unique graphical resource/rig scheduling capability. A graphical view of all of the phases of the project is also available. Moreover, these graphical capabilities are tied to the underlying database, allowing quick and easy updating by clicking on a resource or project phase and moving it around.
Digital Oilfield is a software company that delivers Internet-based solutions that automate and integrate financial and operational processes between energy companies and their suppliers.
Black Hills to acquire additional Colorado oil and gas assets
Black Hills Corp., a diversified energy company, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire certain oil and gas assets of Koch Exploration Co. LLC, in the Piceance basin in western Colorado. The transaction, for which the purchase price was not disclosed, is contingent on the completion of remaining due diligence and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2006.
The Koch Exploration assets include approximately 40 bcf of proven gas reserves. The associated acreage position is comprised of leases covering more than 31,000 gross and 18,000 net acres, of which more than 48% of the lands are presently undeveloped. The acquisition includes 63 producing wells, of which 58 are operated by Koch Exploration, and majority interests in midstream and gathering assets, including a compressor and treatment facility currently awaiting final regulatory approvals for expansion through the addition of an amine processing plant.
In 2005, production from Koch Exploration’s interests was approximately 0.7 bcfe. The acquisition, when completed, would increase the company’s natural gas and oil proven reserve position by approximately 24% and increase the company’s average daily production by approximately 5%.
Compton acquires interest at Callum
Compton Petroleum Corp. has closed the acquisition of its partner’s working interest in the Callum play in Southern Alberta. Compton now has a 100% working interest in the Callum lands, wells, Callum gas plant, and related infrastructure. As previously reported, the company completed a 100% working interest natural gas well at Callum, which was placed on continuous production in December 2005. The first two weeks of initial production averaged approximately 1,525 boe/d from a single sand and the well is continuing to produce approximately 300 boe/d as at the end of February 2006.
A second well was drilled in December 2005 and it has also encountered multiple sands. The well has since been cased and Compton has begun completing the well with results expected to be released in late April 2006. A third well commenced drilling this week. In 2006, 10 wells are planned at Callum. The Callum property consists of a series of low permeability, overpressured, thrusted Upper Cretaceous sandstones across approximately 110 sections of land in the foothills of Southern Alberta.
Energy Spectrum Capital invests in Forrest Drilling
Dallas-based Energy Spectrum Capital, through its current fund Energy Spectrum Partners IV LP, has invested $30 million in Forrest Drilling Co. LLC. Based in Oklahoma, Forrest is a start-up contract land drilling company sponsored by Carl E. Gungoll Exploration LLC.
Forrest has five drilling rigs under construction contracts with deliveries throughout 2006; the first delivery is scheduled for early in the second quarter. The rigs all have 1,200-1,500 horsepower and are capable of drilling to 15,000-20,000 feet depths and in all formations. Forrest will initially operate in Mississippi, Texas, and Oklahoma and expects to add additional rigs through acquisitions of existing operating equipment plus new construction.
Leading the new organization will be Steve Hale, president, who formerly served as president and COO of Bronco Drilling Co. Assisting him will be key senior managers from Gungoll including Ramsey Drake, CEO; Andrew Hunzicker, CFO; Daniel Wilson, VP of engineering; and Corry Woolington, business development manager.
Energy Spectrum Capital, founded in 1996, targets direct investments in companies that own, operate, and develop energy assets in North America. Since inception, the firm has raised in excess of $1 billion of private equity capital from institutional investors to invest in the upstream, midstream, services, and power sectors of the energy industry.
Carl E. Gungoll Exploration LLC is a privately held oil and gas production company that operates in Oklahoma, Texas, Mississippi, and Colorado. The company has recently contracted Forrest Rig #1 to drill and develop prospects in the Deep Hosston trend in the Mississippi Salt Basin.
Energy Capital Solutions LP of Dallas, Texas represented Forrest as exclusive placement agent.
CDX bought by private equity group led by TCW Dallas
CDX LLC, the parent company of CDX Gas LLC, Express Drilling Systems LLC; CDX Canada; and CDX Gas International, has signed an agreement with a special purpose affiliate of TCW whereby TCW, together with certain co-investors, will acquire membership units of CDX. The purchase price is based upon an asset value for CDX of approximately $835 million in cash and other consideration. UBS Investment Bank acted as exclusive advisor to TCW for this transaction.
Formed in 1991, Dallas-based CDX is an onshore natural gas exploration and production company, focused primarily on unconventional resources, such as coal, shale, and tight sands using the patented Z-PINNATE® horizontal drilling and completion system. CDX and its affiliated companies operate in numerous states, Alberta, Canada and in several foreign countries.
Founded in 1971, TCW has approximately $123 billion in assets under management.
TCW’s energy and infrastructure group provides institutional capital to the energy sector having raised more than $6 billion in capital in 12 separate funds, and having made more than 170 portfolio investments, including a prior mezzanine debt investment in CDX. In 2005, the group invested $894 million in 27 transactions in 10 countries.
Eldorado enters joint venture
Eldorado Exploration has entered into a joint venture with a private capital group to fund the drilling of the company’s Mesa gas prospect in Roosevelt County, NM.
The investors will earn one-half of Eldorado’s 75% working interest for funding the drilling cost of the first well on the 11,000-plus acres currently leased. After a discovery, Eldorado says that it will pay its percentage share on any future wells drilled.
The Mesa prospect was originally identified by a process called Passive Induced Polarization (PIP) which Eldorado president David T. Laurance has been using since 1992. The company contends that geological studies on wells drilled in the Mesa area, which include seismic indications, have outlined a structure with the potential to recover up to 1 tcf of natural gas. A discovery reportedly could indicate future revenues of approximately $2 billion to Eldorado’s net interest under the current leased oil and gas rights. An additional 20,000 acres will be sought immediately following a successful well.
Chapparral and Lukoil agree to merge
Chaparral Resources, an independent exploration and development company operating in Kazakhstan, has entered into a definitive agreement with Lukoil Overseas Holding to effect a merger into a wholly owned subsidiary of Russian major Lukoil. All issued and outstanding common stock of Chaparral will be exchanged for $5.80 per share in cash, resulting in a payment to minority shareholders of about $88.6 million.
A special committee of the board of directors of Chaparral negotiated the terms of the agreement with Lukoil. The special committee received a fairness opinion from its independent financial advisor, Petrie Parkman & Co.
The transaction is subject to the approval of a meeting of stockholders. At the meeting, the approval of 50% of the outstanding shares will be required to vote in favor of the merger for it to become effective. Closing is subject to certain other conditions.
The proposed transaction should be finalized in May.
Chaparral has a total net 60% interest in ZAO Karakudukmunay, which holds a governmental license to develop the Karakuduk field in western Kazakhstan.
EnCana to sell gas storage business for $1.5 billion
EnCana Corp. and certain affiliates have reached an agreement to sell substantially all of their gas storage business interests to the Carlyle/Riverstone Global Energy and Power Fund, an energy private equity fund managed by Riverstone Holdings LLC and The Carlyle Group, for approximately US$1.5 billion after adjustments. An after-tax earnings gain of approximately US$850 million is expected.
The sale of this non-core asset is part of EnCana’s previously announced divestiture program. The company continues to focus on its industry-leading position in the capture and development of long-life North American natural gas and in-situ oilsands resource plays.
EnCana’s natural gas storage business is located in key gas producing and consuming regions and is linked to major North American gas transmission pipelines. EnCana Gas Storage has approximately 174 billion cubic feet (bcf) of working gas capacity at five facilities in Alberta, California, and Oklahoma. EnCana will retain the Hythe (10 bcf) gas storage facility in northwest Alberta for its own use as this facility is integrated with EnCana’s upstream operations.
Gas storage interests being divested: AECO Hub, including Suffield facility (85 bcf), Alberta, and Countess facility (40 bcf), Alberta; Wild Goose facility (24 bcf), California; Salt Plains facility (15 bcf), Oklahoma; and Starks facility (27 bcf in development), Louisiana. RBC Capital Markets and UBS served as advisors to EnCana on this transaction.
In addition to the gas storage divestiture, EnCana is in the process of concluding the $350 million sale of the Chinook oil discovery offshore Brazil to Hydro. It has also sold its Entrega Pipeline in Colorado to Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP and Sempra Pipelines & Storage for approximately $240 million. Including EnCana’s recent $1.42 billion sale of its Ecuador interests, EnCana expects to realize net proceeds, after cash taxes, of approximately $3.3 billion from these four asset sales. The company plans to use these proceeds to purchase shares under its normal course issuer bid and pay down debt.
TGS completes Gulf of Mexico depth imaging program
TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Co. has completed the pre-stack depth migration (PSDM) of over 750 OCS blocks (17,250 square kilometers) of deepwater Gulf of Mexico 3-D seismic data. The data is located primarily in the Mississippi Canyon area of offshore Louisiana. TGS’ Mississippi Canyon Multi-Client 3-D Survey (MC3D) has been widely licensed in the industry and now the Mississippi Canyon revival depth program has been well received.
TGS’ imaging division performed the advanced data processing for the revival depth program utilizing its proprietary PRIMA™ wave equation pre-stack depth migration software. The resulting data demonstrates clearer, more accurate images of the salt geometry and the prospective sediments below salt. TGS imaging can provide additional customized depth migration iterations to individual oil companies that have licensed the revival depth product.
To aid oil companies in the geological understanding of the area, TGS also offers complementary AVO products, rock property volumes, pore pressure volumes, and synthetic seismograms.
TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Co. is a global provider of multi-client geoscientific data, associated products and services to the oil and gas industry. TGS specializes in the creation of non-exclusive seismic surveys worldwide. The company also provides advanced depth imaging solutions and software through its TGS Imaging division.
A2D Technologies expands into offshore northwest Europe
Well log data provider A2D Technologies has expanded its offerings to include several highly active hydrocarbon provinces offshore Northwest Europe; including the North Sea, Norwegian Sea, Barents Sea, and offshore west Ireland. The company now offers online access to multi-component GeoData sets for online access and instant download via A2D’s web-based system, LOG-LINE Plus!®.
Derived from interpreted data by regional experts, Aceca - also a TGS-NOPEC company, A2D’s GeoData sets include: edited well log data, interpreted borehole litho-, sequence- and chrono- statigraphy, synthetic seismograms, modeled borehole zonations to include lithology, main depositional environment and depositional facies associations. GeoData sets are available online for over 2,200 key wells offshore the United Kingdom, Norway and Ireland.
Concurrently, A2D has signed an agreement with the United Kingdom Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to become an authorized data release agent. Under the terms of the agreement, A2D will offer standardized high-quality log data from the United Kingdom’s continental shelf (UKCS) on behalf of the DTI.
