Never a dull moment - GDF Suez

We achieve continuity and growth not only through our own exploration,but also through take-overs and acquisitions. Han van Gils(Exploration & Development Manager): “In cases such as these weinvestigate the reserves, the volumes and the chances of success.We do this in collaboration with our colleagues from among others theFinance and Engineering & Construction Departments. This investigationtakes a number of weeks and is followed by an indicative proposal.Also the colleagues in Paris are involved in this process. They evaluatewhether the proposal fits in with the strategy, whether the price is rightand they carry out a peer review. If we are given the go-ahead, then westart negotiations.”4.1 Getting the most out of itWhat to do if one investigation shows that there is little reservoir potentialwhile another one shows the presence of a continuous gas stream?In the case of the L5-12ST1 side track the choice was made to cut a45-meter long core in order to find the answer to the question. A giantcross-section of 250-million-year-old rock... Not daily business forthe Drilling Team, and exceptional material for the geologists. HeelcoDudok van Heel (Geologist): “Cutting a core of such an extent as wellas thickness (5.25 inches) is not an easy task, but it went withouta hitch. Generally speaking, cores are much shorter and thinner. Itwas decided to core the entire reservoir section in order to obtain animpression that was as reliable as possible. It turned out to be veryuseful. Based on the information the decision was made to shift thefocus of the investigation. Of course, the cutting of a core is expensive,but it did yield a lot of new information. With this knowledge we wereable to avoid having to carry out other, more expensive measurements.Hopefully we will be able to answer the most important question in thefuture: will the extraction of the gas prove to be economically viable?”Second life for the K9 blockIt seems that the K9 block is starting a second life. After the discoveryof the Snell-field in 2009, the second field (Mohr) was drilled from theK9ab-B platform in 2010. This field proved to be gas-bearing and wentinto production three months after the drilling. Based on the seismicstudies analyzed in 2010, not only the Mohr- but also the Newtonprospectproved to be successful.L5 reviewedThe exploration well in L5a that was drilled successfully in 2010 ledto the decision to further explore the subsoil of L5a. Arie Ratering,(Head Geophysics) and Hage Veltmeijer (Asset Coordinator) of theExploration & Development Department: “Until now, the seismicdata that was gathered by the NAM in 1990 has been sufficient,but we expect to obtain much better and more detailed data ofthe subsoil using the current techniques. We not only want todetermine the size of the Sierra-field, we also want to explore otherprospects in L5a. In the northwestern corner of this block there isa platform over an almost empty gas field. On top of this gas fieldis an undeveloped oil field and underneath that perhaps also anundeveloped gas field. Furthermore, we expect that there are anumber of interesting prospects close to the nearby Sierra-field.”The proposal to subject L5a to a new three-dimensional seismicresearch was quickly honored by both GDF SUEZ and partnerEnergie Beheer Nederland (EBN). In total, 500 square kilometerswere mapped between September 22 and October 19, includingthe north section of L5a and a section of the adjacent blocks.Cutting a 45-meter long, 5.25 inches thick core is not an easy task86 GDF SUEZ E&P Nederland B.V.activities report 2010 87