The government of Nova Scotia awarded Petrofac a contract to help identify the best ways to exploit the province’s ultra deepwater oil potential.
Under the terms of the agreement, Petrofac is expected to deliver a development study for a prospective oil reservoir 3000m beneath the seabed in 2000m of water.
Petrofac says this is a multi-discipline, integrated project, being led by the company’s specialist subsea engineering business, K W Subsea. Additionally, teams from within Petrofac’s Engineering & Consulting Services (ECS) business and the wider group capability will be providing support to the project; ranging from process design, naval architecture, subsea engineering, cost estimating as well as a specific drilling scope. The project is expected to complete in early 2015.
The government of Nova Scotia estimates its offshore potential to be around 120Tcf of natural gas and 8 billion barrels of oil and it has already awarded a number of blocks to Shell and BP who have combined exploration commitments in excess of US$2 billion.
Thought to be similar to oil reserves found in northwest offshore Africa, one of the key challenges for developing Nova Scotia’s reservoirs will be the water depth. Deepwater drilling is scheduled to begin in 2015 with first oil estimated sometime after 2025.
“The potential outcomes of this study are of strategic importance for the Nova Scotia government and a great step forward for Petrofac in the ultra deepwater market,” says Craig Muir, Petrofac ECS managing. “The wider capability set of the Petrofac group really helped us offer a value proposition.”
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