Africa Oil Corp discovers oil in Kenya and viable hydrocarbons in Ethiopia

The Canadian oil and gas company added that the testing programme at the Ngamia-1 oil discovery on Block 10BB in Kenya successfully spud over 3,200 bpd. (Image source: Hrald/Wikimedia Commons)Africa Oil Corp has announced that oil has been discovered at the Ngamia-1 well in Kenya and that Ethiopia’s Sabisa-1 well has confirmed a viable hydrocarbon system

Th Ngamia-1 well, situated on the Etuko Prospect in Block 10BB, is located on the eastern side of the Kenyan basin. The Canadian oil and gas company said that the testing programme at the well successfully spud over 3,200 bpd from six drill stem tests (DST). With optimised completion techniques and surface equipment, it is estimated that these combined flow rates are likely to increase to a rate of 5,400 bpd.

The well is currently being drilled in the Lower Lokhone sands and results from this lower section are expected by the end of July 2013, company sources added.

Five of the DSTs were completed over the Auwerwer sandstones to verify reservoir quality and fluid content which appear to be of similar quality to those tested at the Twiga South-1 well in the same basin.

High-quality waxy sweet crude was flowed from all five zones in the Auwerwer formation with good quality reservoir sands encountered. All zones produced dry oil with no water produced and no pressure depletion. One DST was earlier completed on the Lower Lokhone with successful results.

Tullow Oil, the field's operator, has reported that Ngamia and Twiga oilfields are believed to contain more than 250mn barrels of recoverable oil. Appraisal work, including the acquisition of 3D seismic and the drilling of appraisal wells on both discoveries, will be undertaken over the next year to confirm these estimates, the firm added.

Keith Hill, CEO of Africa Oil Corp, said, “We are very pleased with the results of the Ngamia-1 testing programme which has confirmed the productivity of both the Lower Lokhone reservoir and the high quality Auwerwer reservoir and significantly increased the net pay in the well. This encouragement has caused us to set in motion appraisal of the Ngamia-Twiga trend and to assemble a technical team to commence early development planning both for a large scale pipeline development and an early development scheme.

“The Etuko discovery also opens up a new fairway on the eastern flank play in Lokichar where a number of other large scale prospects have been identified.”

Africa Oil Corp also stated that the Sabisa-1 well in Ethiopia confirmed a viable hydrocarbon system. The well was drilled on the South Omo Block in the northern portion of the Turkana Basin, 300km north of the Ngamia and Twiga discoveries, to a total depth of 2,082 metres.

The well encountered reservoir quality sands, oil shows and heavy gas shows indicating an oil prone source rock and a thick shale section.

Hill added, “The Sabisa results are also highly encouraging as all the major components for oil accumulation appear to have been proven in one of our largest and most prospective frontier basins in the portfolio. The second half of 2013 promises to be an exciting and transformational period in the growth history of the company.”

The OGEC 75 rig move has been initiated and a late Q3 2013 spud is expected. Numerous additional follow-up prospects have been mapped in this part of the South Omo Block and in the adjacent Chew Bahir Basin, the CEO noted.

Meanwhile, preparations are currently underway to drill both Kenya’s Block 9 Bahasi Prospect and the Ethiopia’s Ogaden Basin Block 8 El Kuran Prospect.