The oil exploration firm also said it has completed four flow tests on the Twiga South-1 well, and a fifth test, the final one on the well, is ongoing. The tests were carried out in January and early February this year.
“These tests provide the first potentially commercial flow rates achieved in Kenya and provide real encouragement for the Ngamia test,” the firm said in a financial statement released yesterday to its shareholders in London. Tullow Oil Plc is quoted on the London and Irish Stock Exchanges.
The group has interests in over 100 production and exploration licenses in 22 countries mainly focusing in Africa, Europe, South Asia, and South America.
It said a cumulative rate of 2,351 Barrels of Oil per day (bopd) was recorded from two separate sands in the Auwerwer formation. One test flowed naturally without pumping at a maximum flow rate of 1,860 bopd of 37°API oil and the other flowed at a rate of 491 bopd using a Progressive Cavity Pump (PCP).
Final test
“The final flow test in the Auwerwer formation is ongoing using a PCP and we anticipate that the zone will flow over 500 bopd taking the total combined rate to over 2,850 bopd for the well,” the firm told its shareholders.
After conclusion of the Twiga South-1 testing programme, the firm said it will move the Weatherford-804 rig to Ngamia-1A to re-enter the well, and perform four flow tests. It hopes the tests will deliver rates similar to Twiga South-1.
“Two deeper tests were also completed on the tight reservoir rock at the bottom of the well and, as anticipated, both produced at sub-commercial flow rates and reconfirmed the presence of moveable oil,” the statement added.
The firm says it plans to drill up to 11 exploration and appraisal wells, and carry out up to five well tests to de-risk further basins, and to understand the potential scale of the South Lokichar discoveries this year.
Tullow’s acreage in Kenya includes Blocks 10A, 10BA, 10BB, 12A, 12B & 13T. In July last year, Tullow completed the acquisition of an additional 15 per cent interest in Block 12A, taking its interest in that block to 65 per cent.
Tullow also has a 15 per cent interest in Block L8, offshore Kenya, with an option to increase this equity by a further five per cent.
Rift basins
The onshore acreage covers over 10 Rift Basins in Kenya and Ethiopia, which have similar characteristics to the Lake Albert Rift Basin, and include a southeast extension of the geologically older Sudan Rift Basins trend. Exploration drilling in the Rift Basins started last month, with the drilling of the Ngamia-1 well in Block 10BB.
The well was drilled to a depth of 2,340m and made a significant oil discovery of over 100m of net oil pay, across multiple reservoir zones within a 1.1km thick gross oil bearing interval.
“Exploration activity continued with the Twiga South-1 well, which spudded in August last year, and is located, on-trend, 22 km from Ngamia-1 in Block 13T,” the statement reads.
In November last year, it announced that the well had encountered 30m of net oil pay and an additional tight reservoir rock section with hydrocarbon shows over a total gross interval of 796m. Moveable oil, with an API greater than 30 degree was recovered to surface from all sections during a sampling programme.
- The Standard
