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Vanco Energy defeats ExxonMobil, Shell
in Ukraine offshore oil project
Journal Staff Report
ukrainianjournal.com
April 19, 2006 - Kiev
KIEV, April 19 - Vanco Energy Company, a U.S.-based independent
oil and gas company, on Wednesday defeated world oil majors, such
as ExxonMobil and Shell, to win tender for an offshore exploration
and production license in Ukraine.
A special government commission named Vanco the winner of the tender
to explore and produce oil and gas in the Kerch area offshore the
Black Sea, Environment and Natural Resources Minister Pavlo Ihnatenko
said.
The Cabinet of Ministers is yet to approve the winner before the
company can sign a production sharing agreement, the government
said.
Besides ExxonMobil and Shell, which filed a joint bid, other companies
bidding for the project included a U.S.-based Hunt Overseas Oil
Company, the world’s largest privately-held oil company, and
UkrNafta, Ukraine’s largest oil company.
Vanco Energy Company, based in Houston, is engaged in international
exploration, emphasizing deepwater.
Since 1997, Vanco has built a high-potential deepwater Africa exploration
portfolio. The company now holds seven large licenses in six countries,
including Morocco, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea,
Gabon and Madagascar.
The Ukrainian government expects the offshore Black Sea project
near Kerch region to generate up to $2 billion in foreign direct
investment into oil and gas exploration and extraction.
The overall area of the likely field near Kerch is 12,960 square
kilometers, while depths range from 70 meters to 2,000 meters.
Among Vanco’s offshore achievements is operation a 2,125-meter
well in Morocco and drilling the well trouble-free to the total
depth of 3,976 meters in 2004, the company said on its Website.
In Côte d'Ivoire, Vanco last year drilled trouble-free a
1,735-meter well to a total depth of 3,100 meters, the company said.
Ukraine counts on its off-shore natural gas deposits for boosting
its gas output to 30 billion cu m annually within the next several
years, up from about 20 Bcm/year currently. Ukraine seeks to boost
domestic natural gas output to reduce its heavily dependence on
energy imports.
Ukraine’s explored reserves of natural gas are estimated
at about 1 trillion cu m, while total reserves, including those
offshore the Black Sea, could be as high as 5 trillion cu m of gas,
government officials have said.
Vanco said on its Website that it had conducted 10 reconnaissance
and detail 2D seismic surveys, totaling more than 25,700 line kilometers
and employing such contractors as CGG, Fugro, TGS Nopec, Veritas
and WesternGeco.
Vanco operated eight 3D seismic surveys, totaling 18,000 square
kilometers. (sb/ez)
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