Greka Bags China CBM Drilling Contracts

London-listed coalbed methane (CBM) driller Greka Drilling has been awarded two new contracts with PetroChina Huabei Oilfield, a subsidiary of CNPC, for their ANZE block in China, it said December 21.

Each of the new contracts is for 18 months, with a scope of 10 directional wells, each to be drilled on multi-well pads. The estimated aggregate value of the two contracts is yuan 13.6mn ($2.1mn). 

The contract for PetroChina’s ANZE block announced August 2017 has been completed with 10 wells being drilled with an average completion time from spud to release of 9.73 days and an average depth of 1,350 meters, Greka said.

“The awarding of these new contracts by PetroChina has been the result of a strong drilling performance by the company’s advanced rigs and experienced crews. We expect more contracts to be awarded in the near future as China operators continue to ramp up their drilling programs to meet the country’s increasing demand for clean energy through CBM gas,” said Randeep Grewal, chairman of Greka Drilling.

In India the company is in talks with ONGC which may lead to material modifications including termination of the Bokaro drilling contract in India announced by the company in November 2017.  “We are seeking to clarify the situation in relation to the ONGC contract and will provide an update when appropriate,” Grewal commented.