LNG

Seatrium of Singapore, a leader in LNG project and ship conversions as well as platforms for conventional oil and gas ventures, was awarded a contract by Shell Offshore to construct and integrate the hull, topsides and living quarters of the Sparta semi-submersible floating production unit (FPU) to be deployed in the US Gulf of Mexico.

Seatrium’s Shell contract includes the installation of Shell-furnished equipment and follows a letter of intent signed by both parties in August 2023.

The Sparta FPU will be situated in the Garden Banks area of the US Gulf of Mexico, about 275 kilometres (171 miles) off the coast of Louisiana.

Seatrium said the platform would feature a single topside bolstered by a four-column, semi-submersible floating hull and would be designed to produce 90,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

LNG record

Seatrium, formerly called Sembcorp Marine Ltd and renamed as Seatrium following its merger with Keppel Offshore & Marine, had previously in November 2023 successfully delivered the Greek “FSRU Alexandroupolis” to be deployed offshore northeast Greece as part of a Balkans LNG supply hub.

The Singaporean company also in November handed over the LNG production unit for the BP-led FLNG project offshore Senegal and Mauritanian in West Africa and also involving Dallas-based Kosmos Energy.

Analysts note that the combined Seatrium group is becoming better known in marketing terms as a single unit and provider of engineering solutions to the marine, offshore and energy sectors, particularly in assembling topsides safely and efficiently at ground level.

Seatrium said that the two-level topside for Sparta would be integrated and lifted to the hull using Seatrium’s Goliath twin cranes capable of lifting up to 30,000 tonnes.

“We are deeply honoured that Shell has awarded Sparta, the third FPU newbuild, to Seatrium, following the successful deliveries of the Vito and Whale FPUs,” said
William Gu, Executive Vice President and Head of Oil & Gas International at Seatrium.

Affirmation

“It is a strong affirmation of our team’s capabilities and the long-standing partnership between both parties. We are fully committed to executing the project well, including the single lift operation and fabrication of the FPU to meet its 20,000-psi design for use in harsh weather conditions, and delivering the unit to Shell safely and efficiently,” Gu explained.

Seatrium added that the Sparta FPU was conceived as a replicable project between Shell and Seatrium to leverage the group’s topsides single lift integration methodology, following the Vito and Whale newbuilds.

“With an extensive experience in complex offshore projects, Seatrium is well-positioned and equipped with cutting-edge technology to deliver high-quality engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning (EPIC) services for fixed and floating production platforms and subsea developments,” the company stated.

Valeura Energy Inc., the upstream oil and natural gas company with assets in the Gulf of Thailand and planned appraisal activities for tight natural gas in the Thrace Basin of Turkey, has reported improved third-quarter results.

Valeura, which is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the over-the-counter market in the US, released earnings for the three months to the end of September.

In the third quarter, Valeura sold 1.701 million barrels of crude oil and the company recorded oil revenues of US$149.4 million, versus nil in the same quarter of 2022, which was prior to the company having active production operations.

Valeura said operating expenses increased in the quarter largely due to a planned increase in the amount of well workovers and the volume of maintenance and inspection work performed across the portfolio.

Valeura reported operating expenses of US$55.3 million in the quarter. The expenses included production operations at its Jasmine, Nong Yao, and Manora fields, as well as expenses relating to maintaining the Wassana asset during the precautionary suspension of production operations.

Jasmine field

The Jasmine offshore oilfield is located within block B5/27, at a water depth of about 60 metres. The block covers an area of around 1,931 square kilometres in the Gulf of Thailand.

The Nong Yao field is a producing conventional set of wells located in shallow water offshore Thailand while the Manora field lies in 44 metres water and about 80km from the coast of Thailand.

Valeura’s average realised price for crude oil sales was US$87.8 a barrels in the quarter, reflecting an average premium to the Brent crude oil benchmark of around US$1.3 per barrel.

Valeura, which is based in Calgary, Alberta is carrying out appraisals in the Thrace Basin of northwest Turkey.

The company said this is a potential natural gas area which has under-explored and under-exploited conventional and tight gas plays with the opportunity to deploy technology such as 3D seismic, horizontal drilling and multi-stage fracking.

Thrace activities

“The company had no active operations in Turkey during the third quarter as it continued its search for a farm-in partner to pursue the next phase of work on its tight gas appraisal play in the Thrace Basin, where it holds interests ranging from 63 percent to 100 percent,” Valeura explained.

Oil production amounted to 19,961 barrels a day in the third quarter and adjusted cashflow from operations was US$33.9m.

“I am pleased to announce another stable quarter of production operations, which underscores the long-term, resilient asset base we have assembled in Thailand,” said Sean Guest, President and Chief Executive of Valeura.

“Ongoing infill drilling is replenishing produced volumes and offsetting natural declines, resulting in oil production rates staying in the 20,000 barrels per day range. As a result, we are today re-affirming our 2023 guidance estimates, unchanged,” Guest added.

“Cash flow generation remains strong, and has provided us the ability to pay down debt, cover tax payments, fund the cost of ongoing operations, and still record an increase in our net cash position, which at the end of the quarter stood at US$104 million,” stated the CEO.

Valeura said that the mergers and acquisitions market for additional field assets continued to present “appealing opportunities”.

“We feel it is prudent to ensure our balance sheet is robust, such that we can transact quickly once opportunities arise,” Guest said.

July 20 (LNGJ) - Jadestone Energy plc, the Singapore-based and London-listed oil and gas production company focused on the Asia-Pacific region, said its Akatara gas re-development project offshore Indonesia was 42 percent complete and remained on budget and schedule for first gas in the first half of 2024.

   According to data, the Akatara conventional gas field is expected to recover 52.45 million barrels of oil equivalent comprising 15.66 million barrels of oil and condensate, 74.12 billion cubic feet of natural gas reserves and 24.44 million barrels of natural gas liquid reserves. “After a challenging period, we consider mid-year 2023 to be an inflection point for Jadestone as we start to rebuild shareholder confidence in our investment case and operational delivery,” said Paul Blakeley, Jadestone President and Chief Executive.