Subsurface in brief Report

Insight 09 January 2025

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Report summary

Welcome to the Subsurface in brief where we bring you rapid, responsive opinion and analysis on the key events going on in the global upstream subsurface industry. The report provides rolling coverage of events, combined with data, analysis and opinion from our Subsurface experts. We cover industry news covering both prospective and discovered resources. You can bookmark this report for regular updates.

Murphy strikes oil in Vietnam’s Cuu Long Basin
Galp records further success on Namibia’s Mopane
Rhino Resources spud Sagittarius-1X and complete Azule Energy farm-out
Qatar Energy joins Chevron ahead of key Namibian wildcat
Shell enters Black Sea gas play
Oil India kicks off Andaman Sea drilling campaign
BP Joint Venture green lights US$7bn Tangguh Ubadari (UCC) project in Indonesia
Sinopec taps into high-temperature geothermal resources in Hainan, China
New Zealand to invest US$60 million in superhot rocks (SHR) research
First discovery made in Denmark since 2015
Who Dat having success? LLOG makes another Gulf of Mexico discovery
Long waited Niamou Marine exploration well confirmed unsuccessful
Natural hydrogen pioneer secures further investment to scale up exploration efforts
Mazama Energy targets Superhot Rock resources, Oregon, USA
Petrobras continues African growth with Orange sub-basin farm-in
Pertamina’s gas discovery in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia
Helios Aragón and Rex International Holdings form partnership to explore for natural hydrogen, Oman
Winners announced for the 2024 geothermal tender in Indonesia
Federal court upends US Gulf of Mexico permitting process
Commercial flow rates achieved at Fervo’s Cape Station EGS project
CNOOC in new ultradeep gas find
Geo-Energie Suisse completes the first well for the Haute-Sorne EGS project
State-owned OGDCL opens new Indus basin play with gas/condensate discovery in the Sanghar District, Pakistan
Natural Hydrogen leader confirms cash boost to mature the Nemaha project, USA
Tender announced for thirty-five deep geothermal wells in Iceland
OMV makes Norway’s largest discovery so far this year
Could the Pau-Brasil discovery unlock Brazil pre-salt’s high CO 2 area?
Sage Geosystems confirms location of first commercial geothermal energy storage site
CNOOC's Lingshui 36-1 discovery: a successful test of a shallow gas play in deepwaters of the South China Sea
The deepwater delivers as PETRONAS and Petrobras both announce appraisal success in Latin America
Fervo Energy secures a 320 MW Power Purchase Agreement for Utah’s Cape Station project
Kuwait announces the discovery of an offshore giant
Eni makes oil discovery in Mexico's Sureste Basin
Wintershall Dea makes a gas condensate discovery at Cuvette in Norway
Geothermal drilling plans solidify for the Hellisheidi and Nesjavellir projects in Iceland
Awards from Wood Mackenzie’s 16 th annual Future of Exploration Survey
Utah FORGE: Results released from the enhanced geothermal demonstration project
Shell makes second gas discovery in offshore Egypt campaign
Fusaea discovery could spur Suriname’s second oil deepwater development
Tangkulo-1 is the latest feather in the cap for Indonesia and Mubadala Energy
The explorers are back: Armstrong and partners celebrate wildcat success in Alaska
Mopane could be Namibia's best discovery yet
Shell announces significant exploration write offs in Albania
Welchau discovers hydrocarbons but commerciality not confirmed
Bluefin discovery in the gassy southeast cluster of Stabroek block, Guyana
CNOOC reveals China deepwater oil find
Harbour Energy’s Indonesian drilling campaign yields mixed results.
Delving into the subsurface: storage sweet spots in saline aquifers
Pemex returns to deepwater exploration
Ecopetrol's first deepwater operated discovery
Eni and TotalEnergies confirm excellent gas appraisal results in Cyprus
- ADNOC and BPto form new joint venture in Egypt
TotalEnergies’ Venus extends to the northwest, as Mangetti well hits targets in Namibia.
ONGC brings Mahanadi basin to life with discovery in block MN-DWHP-2018/1
Galp Energia’s Mopane struck oil in Namibia & TotalEnergies increases Namibian stake
PTTEP enjoys more Malaysia exploration success
Shell spuds second appraisal well on Namibia’s Jonker
Shell makes gas discovery offshore Egypt
Pakistan Petroleum announces major gas condensate discovery
Energy giant Saudi Aramco discovers two new gas fields
Ecopetrol spuds key gas appraisal well offshore Colombia
- PETRONAS and ExxonMobil announce oil discovery at Roystonea-1 in block 52 Suriname
Lancetfish-2 marks Guyana's 33 rd discovery
Iran explores new horizons for oil and gas growth.
Kosmos makes its first operated GoM discovery
Could the permit to drill in Potiguar Basin unlock Brazil's Equatorial Margin potential?
Indonesia back on the exploration map with Eni’s Geng North-1 discovery
Recap of the 2023 World Petroleum Congress - Energy Transition: The Path to Net Zero
New play success in the Balder area and Velocette well disappoints
Santos and APA Corporation agree a farm-in deal for North Slope Alaska exploration blocks
KUFPEC farms into Shell’s North El Amriya block offshore Egypt
Eni starts up Baleine in Cote d'Ivoire
Cullinan dry hole breaks Shell's run of discoveries in Namibia
Equinor makes Crino/Mulder discovery in Norway’s prolific Fram-Troll area
Sunspear discovery in US GoM continues Talos’ successful ILX strategy
Chevron’s Aphrodite-3 gas appraisal well records success in Cyprus
Exploration Wells to Watch update
- Well results so far
- Wells to keep an eye on in H2
ADNOC completes the world’s first CO 2 injection well in a carbonate saline aquifer
Carnarvon Energy abandons Timor-Leste operations, ending plans for Buffalo oilfield redevelopment
Hess fishes for more volumes with its Pickerel discovery
OMV makes the largest gas discovery in Austria for 40 years
Shell makes fourth Namibian discovery in a row with Lesedi-1X
Shell’s Pensacola discovery gets resource upgrade as estimated volumes increase
DNO announces the largest North Sea discovery since 2013
Guyana's Wei-1 exploration well encounters hydrocarbon-bearing sands in primary Santonian horizon
TotalEnergies drills ahead in Namibia
North Erregulla Deep-1 discovery, onshore Perth basin
TotalEnergies makes large oil and gas discovery in shallow water Nigeria
Aker BP makes significant oil discovery near Yggdrasil
Wells to watch 2023 - May update
Encouraging news from Wei-1 in Guyana
TPAO announces Türkiye’s largest-ever oil discovery
Woodside Energy joins Chevron in two exploration blocks offshore Egypt
Kan discovery in Mexico’s shallow water, another IOC success
ExxonMobil and partners reel in the Lancetfish discovery off Guyana
Lockyer Deep appraisal well a duster
Murphy Oil on the brink of a return to Africa after 7-year hiatus
Sonatrach announces six Algerian discoveries
QatarEnergy joins Shell as partner offshore Mauritania
Brazil's Foz do Amazonas drilling again faces permitting delays
Eni's Yatzil discovery kicks off drilling campaign in Mexico
Arrow Exploration’s RCE-3 confirms hydrocarbon find
ICYMI: The biggest global issues in upstream revisited
Equinor makes 7th discovery in Troll area, Norway
Shell discovers gas at Pensacola in the UK's Southern North Sea
Eni receives go-ahead for Merakes project offshore Indonesia
Fangtooth Southeast discovery in Guyana kicks off E&A campaign in Stabroek block
Local companies snap up DROs from Malaysia’s 2022 Bid Round
Oil and gas exploration: 2022 in review
Discovered resources: 5 things to look for in 2023
Global exploration: 5 things to watch in 2023
Ithaca Energy confirms the presence of hydrocarbons after completion of Isabella 30/12d-12 appraisal well
Vår Energi makes Lupa gas discovery in the Barents Sea
Türkiye increases Black Sea gas resources with Çaycuma discovery and Sakarya upgrade
Malaysia ends year on an exploration high
Eni makes third gas discovery offshore Cyprus with Zeus-1 well
NOVATEK discovers Viktor Girya field in the Russian Arctic
PETRONAS Carigali makes significant oil and gas discovery offshore Sarawak
Perenco successfully tests new pre-salt play offshore Congo
OMV makes Oswig gas-condensate discovery near Oseberg
Energean bolsters its Israeli resources
Petrobras’ Aram discovery adds to hope for pre-salt explorers
Yarrow-1 and Sailfin-1 make it nine 2022 discoveries for Guyana's Stabroek
Energean announce gas discovery at Hermes-1 well
Chevron gobbles up juicy Namibian Orange Basin acreage
Large oil resource upgrade at Rosneft’s giant West Irkinskoye field
Mubadala makes new Sarawak gas discovery
Neptune makes Ofelia discovery near its prolific Gjøa hub in Norway
APA makes its first operated discovery in Suriname with Baja-1
Eni makes large gas discovery with Cronos-1 well in Cyprus
Huron discovery extends US GoM subsalt play into northern Green Canyon
Could the latest Petrobras-BP’s Alto de Cabo Frio Central discovery end the 10-year pre-salt drought?
Eni doubles resources at its Abu Dhabi discovery
New deepwater discovery puts Colombia’s exploration in the spotlight
Seven discoveries so far in 2022 on Guyana’s Stabroek block
Algeria’s Sonatrach announces three new discoveries in exceptional year for discovered resources
Eni successfully appraises Baleine
TotalEnergies exits Greek deepwater exploration licences, but ExxonMobil remains
Rosneft makes giant oil discovery in the Arctic
Sanoat Energetika Guruhi (SEG) makes one of Uzbekistan’s largest-ever oil discoveries
Sonatrach makes multi-tcf gas discovery near Hassi R'Mel
Western Gas’ Sasanof-1 a disappointment
BP's three-well exploration campaign offshore Azerbaijan comes up dry
ADNOC announce three onshore oil discoveries totaling 650 million barrels
CGX and Frontera confirm Kawa-1 well results; de-risking inboard play potential
Energean’s Israeli Athena prospect falls short, but Olympus beckons
Neptune Energy confirms Hamlet discovery, near Gjøa in Norway
Exploration heats up off Newfoundland with three upcoming wells
Azerbaijan’s shallow-water SWAP block drilling update
Disappointment at BHP’s Wasabi-2 well brightened by Shell’s offshore Barbados farm-in
Apus-1 disappoints for Santos
More exploration success for Eni in Egypt’s Western Desert
Equinor makes Kveikje discovery as prolific Troll and Fram area delivers again
QatarEnergy farms into ExxonMobil’s North Marakia block offshore Egypt
Sonatrach makes large oil discovery near Algeria’s giant Hassi Messaoud
Eni upgrades in-place resources after successful appraisal of Ndungu field offshore Angola
Santos encounters success in Pavo-1, Australia
Shell spuds much-anticipated Edinburgh well in UK
Success for ExxonMobil in Cyprus with appraisal of giant Glaucus gas field
Eni and Sonatrach announce Berkine Basin oil discovery in Algeria
LUKOIL makes large gas-condensate discovery in Russian sector of Caspian Sea
Strike Energy finds more gas in the Perth basin
Exploration by NOCs: easy for big exporters, essential for big importers
TPAO spuds Turkey’s latest deepwater exploration well in Black Sea
Total and APA Corporation announce fifth discovery in Block 58 offshore Suriname
Dragon Oil’s exploration success in Egypt’s Gulf of Suez shows basin has life in it yet
Exploration success in Guyana, Namibia and UAE but disappointment in first offshore Montenegro test
Malaysia lays out DRO buffet for 2022 license round
Norway's APA 2021 licensing round: Sustained appetite but pool of explorers shrinking
Chariot announces appraisal success with Anchois-2 offshore Morocco
Two to ring in 2022 in Guyana
Eni dominates Egypt's bid rounds
Egypt’s Red Sea attracts new explorers
Cyprus awards Block 5 exploration licence to ExxonMobil and QatarEnergy
Lukoil makes its first discovery offshore Mexico
Suriname reserves grow even as wildcat disappoints
A third dry hole fails to dent hopes for Guyana's Canje block
Equinor makes oil discovery at Egyptian Vulture in Norway
LUKOIL snaps up 25% stake from BP in Azerbaijan’s SWAP exploration project
Good news continues in Australia's Perth basin
Eni discovers a whale offshore Côte d'Ivoire
Access is still king
US GoM Lease Sale 257 will move ahead
BP and SOCAR finally spud shallow-water oil exploration well in Azerbaijan
Eni makes its second discovery in Mexico's Area 10
QP’s strategic partnership with TotalEnergies deepens
Vår Energi makes oil and gas discoveries near Balder & Ringhorne in Norway
Suriname's first open bid round: competition, but in a tight pocket
Turkey makes another multi-tcf gas discovery in the Black Sea, close to Sakarya
Wintershall Dea continues the run of exploration success in Norway
PTTEP’s fantastic four in Malaysia
Q1 2021 – Exploration review
Norwegian exploration reaching near decade-level highs
GoM success for BP at Puma West
PTTEP continues its discovery spree offshore Sarawak, Malaysia
Discovery confirmed at deepwater Shafag Asiman prospect in Azerbaijan
Pemex announces giant Dzimpona-1 discovery
Equinor makes discovery at Isflak in the Norwegian Barents Sea
Two for two for PTTEP and PETRONAS in familiar waters
Bahamas Perseverence exploration well disappoints
Ireland moves to ban future licensing
Kosmos & Beacon deepwater GoM exploration success
Biden administration suspends US federal oil & gas permitting
Four for four: Suriname’s Block 58 delivers another discovery
Alaska's first ANWR Lease Sale results reflect multitude of risks
In case you missed it: holiday roundup of key discovery news
- Saudi Arabia announced four new discoveries
- Russia announces giant finds
- Bolivia: Repsol closes out the year with tenth discovery of 2020

Tables and charts

This report includes 180 images and tables including:

Hai Su Vang-1X location
Well locations on Mopane
Sagittarius-1X well location

Recent farm-ins in Namibia's Orange sub-basin
Bulgaria's Black Sea
Location of Vijay Puram-1 well
Indonesia Announced CCUS Capacity By Operational Year 1
Heat flow distribution map in the Fujian-Guangdong-Hainan region
Geothermal power plants in Asia
Geothermal power installed capacity by status (top ten countries)
Geothermal resources in the Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand
Global distribution of superhot rocks
Possible Harald production outlook with HEMJ
Location of Who Dat area LLOG-operated tie-backs
Niamou Marine well location
Koloma investor profiles
Top hydrogen projects by net production: USA
Natural hydrogen exploration: the journey to FID
Natural hydrogen resource development: the pathway to commerciality
Newberry SHR Project location map
Levelized cost of Energy, 2024, North America
Location of DWOB block with Namibian discoveries
Creaming curve by well count in Tomori basin
Hydrogen exploration potential in Oman
Rex International Holdings: Portfolio
Projects and exploration: Naturally occurring hydrogen and helium
Results of the 2024 geothermal tenders in Indonesia
Geothermal resource potential of Indonesia
Geothermal power plants in Indonesia
Schematic cross sections of the Sumatra, Java, and Sulawesi islands
Cross section of the geothermal resource at Cape Station site
Planned vs actual proppant placed for each stage across the three wells
Location map of the Liwan 4-1 gas discovery
Location of the Haute-Sorne project
Drilling days versus depth curve for the Haute-Sorne EGS project
Baloch-2 discovery within Sinjhoro (2568-5) acreage
Projects and exploration: Naturally occurring hydrogen and helium
Pathway to becoming a disruptor
Geological map of Iceland with temperature hotspots
Norway discovered resources 2013-2024
BP Energy’s participation in the pre-salt of Campos and Santos basins
Next generation geothermal projects
Sage Geosystems energy storage technology schematic
Location map of the Lingshui 36-1 gas discovery
Location Map of Sloanea-2 and Uchuva-2 Appraisal Wells
Geothermal projects in Utah
List of current offtake agreements for Cape Station
Geothermal project cost breakdown and risk profile at various stages of development
Al-Nokhatha discovery location with disputed boundaries and the disputed Dorra field.
Yoppat discovery location
Location of Hellisheidi and Nesjavellir geothermal plants, Southern Iceland
Formation temperature in the Hengill geothermal area
Next generation geothermal projects in the United States, site map of Utah FORGE
Company overview of Cape Station operator, Fervo
Pliocene and Pre-Pliocene deepwater creaming curves
Location of King Street discovery and Voodoo-1 and Sockeye-1 wells
Blocks 2 and 3 location
Location of Welchau prospect
Bluefin-1 well location
CNOOC deepwater gas production in China, by field complex
Map: Gayo-1 & Halwa-1 well locations
Stø reservoir structure map
Composite CRS map of Stø aquifer
Exploration plan blocks and planned well locations
Orca Norte-1 location
Cyprus – development concepts for deepwater gas discoveries
Map: Venus discovery with Mangetti-1X well location
Map: Block MN-DWHP-2018/1 with discovered Utkal field
Map: Mopane-1X location
Jonker-2A location
North Sidi Gaber and North East El Amriya blocks
Jhim East X-1's location on the Shah Bandar (2467-16) block
Orca Norte-1's location
Lancetfish-2 well location
Location of Tiberius and Spencer wells
Brazilian Equatorial Margin map. Pitu and Morpho-1 wells location
Location of Norma and Velocette discoveries
Area of farm in for Apache Corporation
KUFPEC and Shell's Nile Delta acreage
Baleine location
Cullinan-1X location
Comparison of Lime Rock and Venice reservoirs to other Viosca Knoll (VK) fields
Comparison of Sunspear to Front Runner and Genesis
Aphrodite – expected development concept
World CO2 emissions (scope 1&2 ktCO2e)
Volume of recoverable reserves by lithology (mmboe) (Middle East region)
Cumulative CCUS project capacity by region
Location of Buffalo field
Pickerel well location
Lesedi-1X and Cullinan-1X exploration well locations
Location of Pensacola discovery
Nara-1X well location
Location of North Erregulla Deep discovery
Yggdrasil production with Øst Frigg Beta/Epsilon
Wells to watch 2023: May update
Wei-1 and Kawa-1 schematic
Şehit Aybüke Yalçın discovery
Woodside's acreage acquisitions in the last decade
Discovered volumes by operator in Mexico's shallow waters 2009-2023
Kan-1 location
Lancetfish discovery
Murphy Oil's Cote d'Ivoire blocks (under application)
Algerian discovered resources by basin since 2000
Panna Cotta exploration well location
Morpho well (Foz do Amazonas)
Dois Irmãos block and Aram's appraisal well
Yatzil-1 exploration well location
Rio Cravo Este’s location on Tapir
Summary of 'FANTA' discoveries
Shell’s acreage position around its Pensacola discovery
Merakes and Merakes East fields
Fangtooth Southeast-1 discovery
Remaining resources by field and cluster (mmboe)
Fields coming onstream in 2023
Isabella field location
Norwegian oil and gas discoveries in 2022
Black Sea - Çaycuma discovery
Table: Malaysia successful E&A wells in 2022
Malaysia E&A well count, success rates and E&A operators
East Mediterranean – Zeus-1 gas discovery location
Viktor Girya field location
Perenco licences offshore southern Congo
Aram Block: wildcat well location
Net pay for major discoveries in Stabroek block
Hermes-1 gas discovery
Block 2813B and Namibian discoveries and prospects
Aram Block: wildcat well location
West Irkinskoye field
Gjøa Area production
Baja-1 discovery
Alto de Cabo Frio Central block: wildcat well location
XF-002
Stabroek net pay for discoveries
Algeria discovered resources 2012-2022
Baleine discovery
ExxonMobil - East Mediterranean exploration blocks
Algeria's cumulative gas resources and the impact of LD2
Azerbaijan: SWAP exploration wells
Canada: Block EL 1156 (Sitka and Cambriol Central) and Block EL 1156A (Hampden)
Azerbaijan: SWAP exploration wells
Shell farm in blocks offshore Barbados
Majors’ Western Nile Delta 2019-2020 direct awards
UK number of wells and discovered resources by reservoir age
Cyprus - Glaucus gas field
Location of Khazri discovery
APA 2021: awarded licences
Anchois gas field and GME
EGPC and EGAS blocks offered and awarded
Blocks awarded during the 2019 GANOPE round
Map: Asia Pacific’s exploration and appraisal campaigns to watch in 2022
Cyprus Block 5 location
Yoti Oeste-1 well location
Location of Sapote
Norway resource discovered by basin
LUKOIL’s Caspian Sea portfolio outside of Russia
Recent significant gas E&A wells in the Perth Basin
Map: Lockyer Deep discovery and nearby fields
Azerbaijan: Shallow Water Absheron Peninsula exploration wells
QP’s net exploration acreage by operator-partner in SSA
QP's blocks in South Africa and Namibia
Commercial and economically viable success rates in Norway
Blocks in Suriname's shallow water round 2021
Total Norway discovered volumes (2011-2021)
Creaming curve of the Oligocene-Miocene sandstone play, Sarawak basin, Malaysia
PTTEP's net exploration acreage in Asia Pacific (km2, May 2021)
Wildcats to watch completed in Q1 2021
Wildcats to watch Q1 2021
Discovered resource and resource per well by basin in Norway
Location of Puma West in southeast Green Canyon
Map: PTTEP’s acreage in the Balingian province, Sarawak, Malaysia
Location of Shafag Asiman discovery
Location of Dzimpona discovery
Map: PTTEP's block SK417 and adjacent block SK410B
Map: PETRONAS' North Madura II block and adjoining Ketapang PSC
BP acreage and ADNOC-BP JV blocks
Upper Cretaceous Campanian reservoirs in Suriname
Completed well results
Future wells to watch