Offshore staff
LONDON – Ophir Energy (LN:OPHR) plans an extensive drilling campaign this year offshore West Africa.
Last December, the company entered Ghana by taking a 20% operated stake in the Offshore Accra PSC, targeting a potential continuation of the regional West African Transform Margin play.
Ophir aims to drill one well in July, and up to three wells on its acreage offshore Gabon, starting late-2013. Two will be onpresalt targets with joint venture partner Petrobras.
Last year, the partners acquired three 3D surveys, one focused on the presalt play and the other two targeting the Maastrichtian play identified recently in the analogueSergipe-Alagoas basin offshore Brazil. Processing of these datasets is nearing completion.
The company is also lining up further exploration and appraisal drilling offshoreEquatorial Guinea, after bringing new partners into the license.
Last year, three successful exploration wells were drilled on block R. The resultant Tonel, Fortuna East, and Fortuna West discoveries have added a combined 262 MMboe of net contingent resources and partly de-risked another drilling inventory.
Discussions are in progress with the Equatorial Guinea authorities and other prospective on commercializing these resources via LNG export.
OffshoreEast Africa, Ophir will start exploration drilling as an operator later this year with wells planned on the Tanzanian block 7 and East Pande licenses and in the Kenyan L9 license.
3/15/2013
