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The Oil Patch Insider U.S. and Norway in Nova Scotia flag flap; Kuparuk gets extra rig
Norwegian rig owners are wrapping themselves in the Maple Leaf in an attempt to stop a U.S. company from drilling a natural gas well offshore Nova Scotia.
Ocean Rig of Norway has applied to the Canadian Transportation Agency to have its semi-submersible rig Eirik Raude registered in Canada and head off plans by Marathon Oil to use the U.S.-based drillship Deepwater Pathfinder owned by Transocean to probe the Annapolis block starting in late April.
Marathon as 30 percent operator, with EnCana (26 percent), Norsk Hydro (25 percent) and Murphy Oil (19 percent) as partners, notched Nova Scotia’s first deepwater success in 2002 with their Annapolis G-24 well, using a Transocean ship.
Marathon applied to the transportation agency in November for admission to bring the Deepwater Pathfinder to Nova Scotia waters.
That automatically triggered a notice from the agency, asking whether any Canadian vessels were capable of handling the job.
Ocean Rig responded before Christmas, saying the Eirik Raude would be available once it completes drilling EnCana’s Weymouth offshore license, after which Ocean Rig and EnCana will dissolve their East Coast drilling partnership that was formed in 2002.
To secure the contract, Ocean Rig said it planned to switch the registration of the Eirik Raude from the Bahamas to Canada, even though Marathon has told the transportation agency the rig is unsuitable and its price is too high.
A spokesman for Marathon said the Annapolis well, which could hold 5 trillion to 15 trillion cubic feet of reserves, will be in jeopardy if the Canadian government attempts to block the use of the Pathfinder.
A spokesman for the transportation agency, indicating a decision will be made no later than March, said economic factors will be taken into consideration. North Slope Kuparuk field gets extra rig The ConocoPhillips-operated Kuparuk River unit has had just one conventional drilling rig doing field development drilling since spring 2002. In February, a second rig — Nordic Calista 3 — will go to work doing mainly development drilling at the field, ConocoPhillips spokeswoman Dawn Patience confirmed this month. It will be joining Doyon 141, which returned to Kuparuk in November after a 60-day loan to BP.Nabors promotes Jim Denney, Dave Hebert Jim Denney, president of Nabors Alaska Drilling since 1994, has been promoted to chairman of both Nabors Alaska and Pool Well Service. He will move from Anchorage to Houston, Nabors Industries said in a Jan. 15 statement, maintaining responsibility for Nabors Alaska while assuming control of the company’s Lower 48 well servicing and workover business.
In Alaska, Dave Hebert has been promoted from drilling superintendent to general manager and John Neason has been named drilling superintendent in Hebert’s place.
Nick Petronio, president of Pool Well Service, will continue in his present position, reporting to Denney.
Gene Isenberg, chairman and CEO of Nabors Industries, said the changes were being made “to more effectively exploit the inherent synergies between our drilling and well servicing workover operations.”
Denney, Isenberg said, has more than 30 years in the drilling industry, bringing “a wealth of operations, commercial and technical experience to both these organizations.”
Denney started with Loffland Brothers in 1977, which was acquired by Nabors in 1990, and spent 17 years in the North Sea, including nine years in Aberdeen, Scotland as operations manager for Nabors North Sea business.
Hebert began his Arctic drilling career in 1978, joining Nabors a year later. He has been drilling superintendent for the last nine years.
Neason joined Nabors in 1997, following an eight year career in the U.S. Navy as an electrical maintenance instructor and technician on nuclear powered submarines. Wyoming family honored as ‘Citizens of West’ The True family of Casper, Wyo., who built a network of energy, oil and agriculture businesses from a one-rig drilling company, were honored as the “Citizens of the West” Jan. 14.
The award is given yearly at the National Western Stock Show in Denver, Colo., to recognize Westerners who embody the pioneer spirit, stock show officials said.
H.A. “Dave” and Jean True and their four children share this year’s honor.
Dave True, who died in 1994 at age 79, and his family built True Cos., which includes ranches in Wyoming, North Dakota and Arizona and the True Drilling Co. The children are: Tamma True Hatten and H.A. “Hank” True III and Diemer and Dave True.
Jean True described her husband as a modest man, who would have been tremendously honored to receive the award, but would have been especially happy to have the entire family together.
“I think seeing all the little ones here (would be the highlight), I really do,” True said. “That would be a real joy.”
Proceeds from the award dinner benefit the National Western Scholarship Trust, which supports 60 scholarships to colleges in Colorado and Wyoming. Previous recipients of the award include Vice President Dick Cheney, former Wyoming Sen. Alan Simpson and William K. Coors.
Editor’s note: Oil Patch Insider is written by Kay Cashman, Petroleum News publisher and managing editor. Petroleum News Calgary correspondent Gary Park, The Associated Press, contract photographer Judy Patrick and Petroleum News contributing writer Allen Baker contributed to this week’s Insider.
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