ExxonMobil’s drilling ops with Valaris drillship unleash more gas

ExxonMobil Egypt, a subsidiary of the U.S.-headquartered energy giant ExxonMobil, has made a new gas discovery in the western region of the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Egypt, with a drillship owned by Valaris, an offshore drilling contract.

ExxonMobil has completed the drilling of the Nefertari-1 well in the North Marakia Block with the Valaris-owned DS-9 drillship at a water depth of 1,720 meters in the western region of the Mediterranean Sea. As gas-bearing reservoirs were encountered, the firm plans to continue to evaluate the results. The block is operated by ExxonMobil and QatarEnergy is the firm’s partner.

After ExxonMobil exercised a six-month-priced option for the drillship, the work scope that covers the extension was scheduled to begin in January 2025 in direct continuation of the existing firm program. However, two more six-month extension options remain available, if the firm decides to expand the rig’s drilling assignment further.

The 2015-built Valaris DS-9 drillship is of Samsung 78k design and can accommodate 200 people. The country’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources has explained that ExxonMobil’s results showed the presence of two main layers bearing gas in the Cretaceous formation, but the initial estimates of the volume of gas are being calculated.

Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources highlighted: “This well is not deep, as the final depth reaches about 2,700 meters, which gives hope for the ease and speed of its development. It is also close to existing facilities that have the capacity to receive it.

“Exxon has used all modern drilling technologies along with the latest seismic data processing application to prove the existence of gas discovered in this virgin area for the first time. This discovery will open the door of hope for the western region of the Mediterranean and encourage companies to work there.”

The rig, which can work in water depths of 12,000 feet (around 3,658 meters) and drilling to a depth of 40,000 feet (around. 12,192 meters), worked for ExxonMobil in Angola, where the firm not only made a new oil discovery in Block 15 but also inked a letter of agreement for the recovery of additional research costs with the country’s National Oil, Gas and Biofuels Agency (ANPG).

Another energy giant, BP, also confirmed the completion of drilling activities at two wells, targeting to bring them on stream next month.

As a result, subsea commissioning operations are ongoing in the Mediterranean Sea as another Valaris-owned drillship heads to the next well on its drilling agenda in the East Mediterranean (East Med).

Egypt is keen on ramping up hydrocarbon exploration as confirmed by its plans to sign 15 new agreements by the end of 2024 and 2025, with a signature bonus of up to $20 million, a minimum investment of $748.5 million, and a commitment to drill at least 46 wells.

Aside from the exploration activities BP and ExxonMobil are undertaking in Egyptian waters, Chevron was slated to drill the Khanjar-1 well and Eni was expected to resume drilling operations at the Zohr field.