Gazania well offshore South Africa fails to deliver

Nov. 18, 2022
Eco Atlantic’s Gazania-1 well on Block 2B offshore South Africa has encountered gases typically associated with light oil but with no evidence of commercial hydrocarbons.

Offshore staff

TORONTO, CanadaEco Atlantic’s Gazania-1 well on Block 2B offshore South Africa has encountered gases typically associated with light oil but with no evidence of commercial hydrocarbons.

The well, which reached total depth of 2,360 m, will be plugged and abandoned. 

Logging continues, and the partners will examine the results in connection with future plans. Earlier this week they submitted a Production Right Application to the Petroleum Agency of South Africa for Block 2B, based on Soekor’s 1988 oil Aj-1 discovery and potential future operations.

Eco Atlantic plans further exploration drilling off South Africa: a two-well campaign on Block 3B/4B scheduled for 2023 and at least one well into Cretaceous targets on the Orinduik Block offshore Guyana, operated by Tullow Oil.

A collaborative farm-out process of up to 55% is underway for Block 3B/4B.

Eco Atlantic COO Colin Kinley said the gases produced during drilling of Gazania-1 seem to confirm an extension of the active hydrocarbon system proven by A-J1.

“Further seismic interpretation will likely lead to the definition of viable areas for trapping downdip of Gazania-1 closer to…A-J1,” he said.

Jan Maier, vice president of exploration with partner Africa Energy, added that more technical work was needed to understand the complexity of the sedimentology and to evaluate alternative viable trapping configurations in the A-J Graben.

11.18.2022