Offshore staff
LONDON – Tullow expects to start a frontier drilling campaign offshore Mauritania this spring.
The campaign is designed to drill new deeper plays in the offshore Mauritanian basin not tested by previous wells. Three of the four wells scheduled for this year will be drilled by theWest Leo rig, which has been operating for Tullow offshore Ghana. The company sees significant upside potential if any of the wells prove to be successful.
Since securing the new C-10 license in 2011, Tullow has also completed farm-ins to the C-6 and C-7 blocks. C-10 was awarded over exploration areas previously covered by the PSC A and B production-sharing contracts. Extensions were granted to both PSC discovery areas, which contain the Banda, Tevet, and Tiof oil and gas discoveries. Tullow has lifted its equity in those areas to more than 60% and is operator.
Last November the partners declared the Banda field commercial, and plan to harness its gas to supply a new local power station, subject to completion of a sales agreement.
Offshore Cote d’Ivoire in the Tullow-operated block CI-103, last year’s Paon-1X exploration well encountered 31 m (102 ft) of net oil pay in a relatively high net-to-gross interval. An appraisal plan for the discovery was submitted in January, and a second exploration well is expected to follow this spring on the adjacent Calao prospect, possibly followed later by a further well on Paon.
On the Hess-operated Ceiba field off Equatorial Guinea, Tullow says new 4D seismic data interpretation has delivered good results, enabling well paths of workovers and new wells to be optimally placed. Four further production wells are planned to raise production.
On the offshore Okume Complex fields, an infill drilling campaign should start this fall with at least 10 wells planned. In the shallower part of the license, an ongoing 4D seismic survey should help define infill drilling needs over the Elon area.
Offshore Mozambique, Tullow farmed into two blocks last August in the southern part of the Rovuma basin, areas 2 and 5, which are operated by Statoil. Water depths vary from 300-2,400 m (984-7,873 ft). Drilling of the Cachalote prospect should start in 2Q using the Discoverer Americas rig.
2/14/2013
