Independent producer Canadian Superior Energy Inc. said last Wednesday El Paso Corp.’s Canadian production subsidiary has agreed to join in developing and drilling its Mariner natural gas prospect offshore Nova Scotia, which is believed to hold potential reserves of more than 1 Tcf. This marks the second time the two producers have teamed up in the region.

The “farm-in” arrangement calls for El Paso Oil and Gas Canada Inc. to pay a “proportionate” percentage of the expenditures for seismic, drilling and completion activities in exchange for an interest in Canadian Superior’s Mariner prospect, said Mike Coolen, director of East Coast operations for the Calgary-based producer. The exact terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The Mariner prospect covers a total of 101,800 acres located adjacent to five significant discoveries near Sable Island, including the 1.6 Tcf Venture gas field situated Southeast of Halifax. Seismic reviews conducted over the past year have identified three large gas-bearing structures that are ripe for drilling on the Mariner block.

The two producers expect to begin drilling this year, said Coolen, but he noted it was “hard to tie it down to an exact month.” The Mariner well will be one of the deepest wells drilled in Canada this year, with the depth reaching 19,685 feet at an estimated cost of $60 million when completed, the company said.

The Mariner prospect, which is located in shallow water depths of about 180 feet, was acquired by Canadian Superior in November 2001 for $15.5 million.

Last April, Canadian Superior and El Paso Oil and Gas Canada partnered to drill an exploratory well on the Marquis block off the coast of Nova Scotia near Sable Island, Coolen noted.

“They [El Paso] bring a lot of expertise to the table,” said Canadian Superior President Greg Noval. “El Paso’s continuing commitment with us to develop the Nova Scotian offshore basin should be seen as positive for the industry and for Nova Scotia.”

In Western Canada last week, Canadian Superior made two natural gas discoveries at its East Ladyfern natural gas play, which is located in northwestern Alberta. The company said it is expecting a new field to be established in the remote area about 22 miles east-southeast of the main Ladyfern gas field and about 65 miles east of Fort St. John, BC.

The Ladyfern discovery kicked off a British Columbia drilling rush two years ago with several high-volume wells, but then wilted as the reserves declined rapidly. Several other companies, however, including EnCana, have made recent large discoveries in northeastern British Columbia near Ladyfern (see NGI, March 31).

“In order for drilling to be conducted on this exciting prospect, approximately 32 miles of trails and roadways and several ice bridges had to be constructed as well as two major river crossings completed,” said Ed Pratt, Canadian Superior’s drilling manager. “This is a very remote area that is accessible only during winter months where we encountered extensive muskeg and we have had to put in place our own infrastructure including crew camp, air strip and medical services.”

Drilling operations were conducted safely throughout the winter during one of the shortest winter drilling seasons on record in Alberta. All further information on the wells is being kept confidential pending upcoming land sales and land negotiations on the area.

The two exploration wells were drilled to total depths of 9,393 feet and 9,515 feet. Canadian Superior has a 75% interest in both wells with an unnamed major oil and gas company participating for 25%.

Canadian Superior said that after the original Ladyfern discovery by Murphy Oil and Apache it made a decision to concentrate on the acquisition of acreage “updip” and east of Ladyfern where very little seismic data had been shot by the industry because of the remote location. The company has acquired extensive acreage in the area (see NGI, March 17).

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