Offshore staff
LONDON – Afren says processing is under way of a newly acquired OBC 3D seismic survey over the Ebok/Okwok/OML 115 area off Nigeria.
The data will assist in optimizing placement of an appraisal well on the Okwok oil field in the OML 67 concession, 50 km (31 mi) offshore in 132 ft (40 m) of water.
Afren and partner Oriental are working toward submission of a field development plan to the Nigerian authorities. This will probably call for installation of a dedicated production processing platform tied back to the 1.2-MMbbl capacityFSO serving the Ebok field, 13 km (8 mi) to the west.
The southern part of the Okwok structure (Okwok South) extends into OML 115 and Afren has identified additional prospectivity within the deeper Que Iboe, Biafra and Isonga formations. With production processing, storage and export infrastructure in place at Ebok, there is a readily available export route for any potential future development in the area.
During the second half of this year, the partners plan to drill an exploration well on the block targeting the Ufon prospect. This is a three-way dip closed structure interpreted to have oil prospectivity in the same D Series reservoirs proven to be oil bearing at nearby Ebok and Okwok.
Afren also operates the OPL 310 concession, located in the Upper Cretaceous fairway that runs along the West African Transform Margin, and which is adjacent to the Chevron-operated Aje field.
The block extends from the shallow water continental shelf to deepwater, and according to Afren is in an under-explored basin with a proven working hydrocarbon system. It is also close to the recently completed West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP).
Existing seismic - a 307-sq km (118-sq mi) 3D survey and 483 km (300 mi) of 2D data – have been integrated with new electromagnetic gravity data acquired in 2011. Afren has identified several prospects in the same Senonian, Turonian and Albian sandstone intervals that have brought large discoveries offshore Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.
The partners intend to drill an exploration well this year and to acquire further seismic.
In the JDZ block 1 offshore Nigeria São Tomé & Príncipe (Afren 4.41%), operator Total has this month spud an exploration well using the drillshipWest Polaris. To date there has been one discovery on the block, Obo-1, drilled in 2006.
3/27/2012
