American Oil and Gas Reporter - February 2016 - 50

SpecialReport: Gulf of Mexico Update
The Noble Energy-operated Big Bend
and Dantzler projects in Mississippi
Canyon 698 and 782, respectively, also
achieved first production early and under
budget. Noble reports the two fields,
which are subsea tiebacks to the Thunder
Hawk production facility, have achieved
expected peak production of 20,000 boe/d
net to Noble.
When Big Bend came on line in late
October, Noble Executive Vice President
of Operations Gary W. Willingham praised
it alongside Dantzler and Gunflint. "Short
cycle times to first production, strong
well deliverability, and low production
costs from our Gulf of Mexico projects
deliver attractive returns, even in today's
environment," he said.
Noble has announced plans to bring
Gunflint on line in 2016. The two-well
project will be tied back to the thirdparty Gulfstar One facility, where Noble
notes it has a firm gross capacity of
20,000 bbl/d.
With its successes at Big Bend, Dantzler and Gunflint, Noble predicts its 2016
Gulf of Mexico production will double
2015's output. The company adds that it
plans to drill an appraisal well at its
Katmai project in Green Canyon 40 this
year. The Katmai discovery well found
154 net feet of crude pay in the Middle
and Lower Miocene.
Deepwater Specialist
Like Noble and many other independents, Deep Gulf Energy Companies says

it has much to celebrate and look forward
to. Formed in 2005 with backing from
First Reserve, Deep Gulf has had many
projects bear fruit, reports President
Richard Clark.
"Two of our biggest successes are the
Mississippi Canyon fields Marmalard and
SOB (Son of Bluto) II, which are named
for characters from Animal House. They
are operated by LLOG Exploration and
tied to LLOG's new-build Delta House
floating production system. Between the
two fields, we have five wells that are
producing 44,000 barrels and 82 million
cubic feet of gas a day."
Clark notes that Deep Gulf has an
11.823 percent working interest in the
fields.
"We also have had success at the Kodiak Field, a Mississippi Canyon project
that we operate," Clark says. "Like many
of our projects, it was discovered by a
major, BP. The discovery well had 400
feet of pay, but the appraisal well was
smaller than the company expected, so
we bought it in 2012."
Deep Gulf operates Kodiak with a
29.065 percent working interest. In 2015,
the company drilled and completed a well
and connected it to the third-party owned
Devils Tower truss spar stationed in 5,610
feet of water at Mississippi Canyon 773.
"It was a difficult project," Clark reflects. "The well was 30,000 feet deep
and had shut-in tubing pressures around
14,000 psi. The bottom-hole temperature
was 275 degrees Fahrenheit, and the pro-

The production deck for Deep Gulf Energy Companies' Kodiak Field has been installed
at the third-party Devils Tower spar. The field is one of many in the Gulf of Mexico that is
projected to come online in 2016.

50 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

duction had enough carbon dioxide to be
corrosive, so we had to use special materials, such as mechanically-lined clad
flowlines."
In mid-January, Clark said the company
expected to bring the well on line by
month's end and predicted it would produce 15,000 bbl/d. "We could drill one
or two more wells, but we are starting
with one and waiting to see how the
reservoir performs," he says.
According to Clark, Deep Gulf is developing three discoveries in 2016. "The
first is Odd Job in Mississippi Canyon
215, where we are the operator with a
54.87 percent working interest," he describes. "It is going to have one to three
wells tied back to Delta House. The first
well should come on line at the end of
the year, and we expect it to flow at
8,000-10,000 bbl/d.
"South of Odd Job, in Mississippi
Canyon 563, we have the South Santa
Cruz discovery," he continues. "We are
the operator, and we have a 40.5 percent
working interest. It will be a one- or twowell subsea development, and it is being
developed jointly with another discovery
we made about six miles away called
Barataria."
Deep Gulf operates Barataria with a
22.5 percent working interest. "It is a single-well project," Clark adds. "We are going
to tie both it and South Santa Cruz to the
Blind Faith FPS in Mississippi Canyon
650. We expect to bring the first well at
South Santa Cruz and the well at Barataria
on stream late this year, and the two wells
should produce about 15,000 bbl/d."
Deep Gulf also has a 35 percent working interest in the Talos Energy LLC-operated Tornado discovery well, which is
in Green Canyon blocks 280 and 281,
and was being drilled in mid-January.
Clark estimates the reserve potential at
40 million barrels.
With oil in the $30/bbl range in late
January, Clark said Deep Gulf was planning
to limit its drilling activity as much as
possible in 2016. "We are capturing more
projects and getting them ready to drill
because we expect prices to turn around,"
he says. "We are hoping they will turn
around toward the end of the year, and we
want to be ready to start drilling as soon
as we see signs of a recovery."
Thanks to backing from First Reserve,
Deep Gulf has the capital to capture opportunities as they emerge, Clark assures.
"First Reserve has been a great partner,"
he comments. "The firm has been around
for 30 years, so the people there have

American Oil and Gas Reporter - February 2016

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