BG Group plc and partners Shell Egypt NV and Edison
International announced today the successful completion
of the Rosetta-11 exploration well in the Rosetta Concession,
offshore the Nile Delta.
The Rosetta-11 well marks a Pliocene gas discovery in
a new field, Rashid North, 20 kilometres north east of
the Rosetta field. Rosetta-11 was drilled to a depth
of 1,605 metres in a water depth of 160 metres and was
suspended as a future production well.
Dr Stuart Fysh, President of BG Egypt said: “The
success of Rosetta-11 continues BG Group's outstanding
exploration record in the offshore Nile Delta Concessions.
Since 1997, the Company has realised a 92 per cent success
rate having drilled 23 successful wells out of a total
of 25. The highly skilled exploration team in BG Group
and its joint venture company, Rashid Petroleum Company,
have developed a thorough understanding of potential
gas-bearing structures in the area increasing the chance
of success when drilling.”
The Rosetta-11 well completes the exploration programme
in the Rosetta Concession. BG and partners have applied
to the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC)
for a Development Lease for this new discovery and approval
is expected to be granted later this year. Under the
Concession Agreement, all areas of the Concession not
included in a Development Lease or Development Lease
application were relinquished to the Egyptian Government
on May 29, 2003.
Notes to Editors
Rosetta Concession
BG Group has a 40 per cent working interest in Rosetta.
Shell Egypt NV holds 40 per cent and Edison International
holds the remaining 20 per cent interest. The partners
were awarded the Concession in 1995.
Rashid Petroleum Company (Rashpetco), a joint venture
company formed by BG (20 per cent), Shell (20 per cent),
Edison (10 per cent) and EGPC (50 per cent), undertakes
exploration, field development and field operations on
behalf of the Rosetta Concession holders.
BG, Shell and Edison signed a 25-year Gas Sales Agreement
with EGPC in October 1997 to supply gas from the Rosetta
Concession into the domestic market. EGPC received first
gas from Rosetta on January 31, 2001, just 45 months
from first discovery in April 1997. The initial stage
of the Rosetta development consists of six wells tied
back to a ‘not normally manned' platform
with a 66km gas/condensate pipeline to the onshore terminal
for delivery into the national grid system near Idku,
east of Alexandria.
The Egyptian national gas transmission system was initially
supplied at a Daily Contract Quantity (DCQ) of 200 million
standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd). The DCQ rose in
two steps, reaching the plateau level of 275 mmscfd on
July 1, 2002.
Since the Rosetta Concession award in 1995, BG has undertaken
gross capital expenditure of US$314 million to realise
the first phase of development. During 2002, Rosetta
produced a total of 99.1 billion cubic feet of gas (bcf)
- 21.6 bcf net to BG. Rosetta has continued to prove
a flexible and reliable source of gas to the Egyptian
domestic market and has been able to take opportunities
to produce up to 335 mmscfd during periods of high demand.
This capability helped Rosetta achieve an average rate
above the 75 per cent of the Annual Contract Quantity
(ACQ) minimum contractual take level in 2002.
Phase 2 of the Rosetta Concession development will consist
of an unmanned minimum facilities wellhead platform tied
back to the existing Rosetta platform. The project Front
End Engineering and Design (FEED) work started in March
2003 and first gas from the project is scheduled for
the fourth quarter of 2005.
|