Focus to drill shallow water Cambay well
Focus Energy is poised to drill its first offshore exploration well next month (April) at NELP-VI shallow water block CB-OSN-2004/1 - seven years after it was granted a PEL by the Gujarat state government.
Promoted by Delhi-based entrepreneur Ajay Kalsi, Focus has mobilised Mercury Focus, an independent leg cantilever jack-up, owned by Singapore-incorporated Newbury Holdings Two, to drill the well in water depths of up to 20 metres to 1500 metres TD. “It should take less than a month to drill this well,” reports a source.
Focus bought this rig two years ago from Transocean while it was in Egypt and commissioned GAC Shipping to dry-tow it to Cochin Shipyard for minor repairs before heading to location, where it is deployed now. In February this year (2013) Focus drilled an exploration well on the onland portion of CB-OSN-2004/1 under its 18-well Phase-I commitment at the block, carved out of the CB-OS/2 licence operated by Cairn India.
“Logs are being evaluated,” adds a source. “We’re waiting for the results.
” Focus has high hopes for CB-OSN-2004/1, which holds the Parvati oilfield discovered by Cairn in February 2001, and where a discovery well flowed oil and water at 2000 b/d with water cut from 5% to 25%. Focus has identified several drilling locations at CB-OSN-2004/1 based on 2164-lkm 2D shot by Russian contractor DMNG in April 2011 using seismic vessel MV Zephyr.
Another 1198-lkm 2D is planned using seismic vessel Focus Admiralty, owned by Kalsi affiliate company Newbury Holdings. Admiralty is currently shooting a 2616-sq km 3D for Focus of which it has completed 126-sq km.
