E&P in Brief. A Wintershall Fact Sheet. Wintershall in Argentina. Annual production in Argentina approx. 25 million barrels of oil equivalent

Transcription

1 Page 1 E&P in Brief A Wintershall Fact Sheet Wintershall in Argentina Annual production in Argentina approx. 25 million barrels of oil equivalent April 2016 Tel Fax press@wintershall.com Field development in Tierra del Fuego and Neuquén Center of excellence for the development of unconventional reservoirs Wintershall has been producing hydrocarbons, mainly natural gas, in Argentina for more than 35 years, and is the fourth-largest gas producer in the country. The company is active in the central Argentinean provinces Neuquén and Mendoza, as well as in the south off the coast of Tierra del Fuego. The fully owned subsidiary Wintershall Energía S.A currently holds working interests in 15 oil and gas fields and produces about 25 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) annually. Province Mendoza Tierra del Fuego: increase in production Wintershall has been active in Tierra del Fuego in the south of Argentina since In 1989, the company began with oil production in the Hidra field, situated in the Austral Basin in the province Tierra del Fuego. As a partner, Wintershall is continuously making efforts to increase natural gas production from the offshore fields ever since. These improvements have been made possible by applying cutting edge technology combined with high investments. In 2015, about 17 million cubic meters per day of natural gas were produced from the CMA-1 area, including the Carina and Aries fields in which Wintershall holds a 37.5 percent participation interest. Other partners are Total as operator and Pan American South. To mitigate the natural production decline of the fields, new wells were drilled in May 2014 in the Carina field. Austral Basin

2 Page 2 In February 2016, Wintershall together with Total and Pan American South put the new Vega Pléyade gas field, located in the Argentinean Sea off the coast of Tierra del Fuego, into production. The Vega Pléyade project will significantly contribute to the supply of natural gas to the domestic market and reach a daily production volume of 10 million cubic meters. It will help to optimize the supply of the already operating gas utilization plants within the region. The offshore field Vega Pléyade is a key project for Wintershall in Argentina with reserves of some 25 billion cubic meters of natural gas. The new platform is the southernmost gas producing platform in the world and is connected to the onshore processing installations at Río Cullen on the Tierra del Fuego coast by a 77 km subsea gas-exporting pipeline. New Vega Pléyade platform: the southernmost gas producing platform in the world. 20 years experience in Neuquén province Wintershall has been active in the production of conventional natural gas and oil in the Neuquén province for more than 20 years. Wintershall holds a 27.3 percent share in the Aguada Pichana block (operator is Total 27.3 %, YPF 27.3 %, PAE 18.1 %). So far more than 350 wells have been drilled in this block, which stretches over 1,364 km 2. Natural gas is currently being produced from about 200 of these wells. In 2015, the block has produced 7.1 million standard cubic meters of gas each day. In addition, in 2014 a shale gas pilot project consisting of 12 horizontal wells with horizontal sections ranging from one to almost two kilometers started drilling in the block targeting the Vaca Muerta formation. At present, eight wells of this project are in production with promising results. The San Roque block covers an area of 1,040 km 2 (Wintershall 24.7 %, operator Total 24.7 %, YPF 34.1 %, PAE 16.5 %) and is situated northeast of Aguada Pichana. Here about five million standard cubic meters of gas are produced daily from about 50 wells.

3 Page 3 Harnessing the huge potential of unconventional resources Argentina has the second-largest shale gas resources in the world. According to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the country has 23 trillion cubic meters of shale gas which equals 11 percent of the global shale gas reserves. For shale oil reserves, Argentina lies fourth worldwide, with 27 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe). Hence, Argentina is one of the most important growth regions in unconventional resources alongside the USA. The geological formation Vaca Muerta, also situated in the Argentinean province Neuquén, is particularly important. It is one of the largest shale gas and shale oil formations worldwide: the EIA estimates that the formation has recoverable reserves of 16.2 billion barrels of oil and 8.7 trillion cubic meters of gas. The formation covers an area of 30,000 km 2 at a depth of about 3,000 meters and has generally between 150 and 600 meters thickness and a high content of Total Organic Carbon (TOC). All technical specifications of the Vaca Muerta shale compare well with the already proven shale in the US. The exploration and production of unconventional energy resources poses major technological challenges. Wintershall is in an excellent position to master these challenges owing to its many decades of experience in environmentally responsible and efficient production

4 Page 4 from complex reservoirs, and thanks to its specialist technological expertise in the production of tight gas in Germany. Operator in the promising Vaca Muerta formation Since 2014 Wintershall has held a share in the Aguada Federal block in the Neuquén province and is the operator here. In December 2015, this share was increased from 50 to 90 percent. Together with the local energy company Gas y Petróleo del Neuquén S.A. (GyP), Wintershall is currently drilling the first pilot project. The block also contains promising shale in the Vaca Muerta formation. The reservoir is situated at a depth between 2,700 and 3,000 meters below ground. In July 2015, Wintershall took over the operatorship of a second license in the Neuquén province: Bandurria Norte. There is a great deal of potential in shale rock but a lot of research has to be conducted to confirm this potential, Thilo Wieland, member of the Wintershall Board of Executive Directors responsible for Argentina, explains. Wintershall has the technologies to take part in the research here in a responsible manner. The German E&P company is bringing its technological know-how and comprehensive expertise in efficient and ecologically responsible production to the table. The first well in the block Aguada Federal in Neuquén province was drilled in Mendoza province: Wintershall as operator In the south of the Mendoza province, Wintershall Energía holds the exploration licenses for the two blocks CN-V (Wintershall 50 %, Geopark 50 %) and Ranquil Norte (Wintershall 50 %, Total 50 %) as the operator. In spring 2013, Wintershall conducted preliminary exploration activities in block CN-V with a 3-D seismic survey covering 180 km 2. In 2014, Wintershall acquired a seismic survey covering 266 km 2 in the Ranquil Norte block. Responsible partner with local ties Wintershall has been working in Argentina for over three decades and has established a strong bond with Argentina. For Wintershall, close ties and good cooperation between industry, policy-makers and citizens are important for producing the energy resources available in a sustainable manner. Seismic truck in Mendoza province. Wintershall is also committed to social and cultural projects in the regions of Argentina where it works, and supports numerous local projects in health, education and culture there. Hence, Wintershall

5 Page 5 takes responsibility and accountability in very concrete ways as a reliable partner. These and other images are available for downloading in the Media Library at