Offshore Weymouth deepwater gas well adds to Nova Scotia dusters

Gary Park

Petroleum News Calgary correspondent

EnCana has delivered another body blow to offshore Nova Scotia by abandoning a deepwater natural gas exploration well that took about two months longer than anticipated to complete.

The Weymouth A-45, spudded last October, encountered difficulties during winter drilling and missed its late February target by a wide margin.

EnCana, the 55 percent operator, said its share of the well cost US$42 million. The partners were Shell Canada 30 percent and Ocean Rig, whose semi-submersible Eirik Raude drilled the well, 15 percent.

EnCana spokesman Alan Boras told Petroleum News that “we have learned a lot” from Weymouth that will be incorporated in future plans for the block and the basin.

Deepwater Nova Scotia had taken an earlier setback when Balvenie B-79, drilled by Imperial Oil 70 percent and Talisman Energy, came up dry.

The deepwater spotlight now turns to the Crimson K-81 well, which is tentatively scheduled for spudding this month by 40 percent operator Marathon Oil, EnCana 35 percent and Murphy Oil 25 percent.

It is on the same exploration license as the Annapolis G-24 discovery by Marathon, EnCana, Norsk Hydro and Murphy in 2002, a find that Marathon said could be part of a block holding 5 to 15 trillion cubic feet of gas.