“We
are exploring offshore Kenya, and apparently it has the same kind of prospects
as offshore Tanzania and Mozambique,” Christophe de Margerie told Dow
Jones Newswires in an interview. “There might be oil too, we are not just
looking for gas. We have acquired the seismic results, but until you drill, you
don’t know.”BEIJING
(Dow Jones)–French oil and gas major Total AS (TOT) plans to drill its first
offshore East Africa exploration well early next year, hoping to emulate huge
gas discoveries made by other oil majors offshore Tanzania and Mozambique, the
company’s chief executive said Sunday
Onshore
in Africa “we have been acquiring a lot of blocks in Kenya, have acquired part
of the shares of Tullow Oil PLC (TLW.LN) in Uganda and have acquired
blocks in Congo on the other side of Lake Albert, and we will be able to start
exploring sooner or later in South Sudan.”
Offshore
West Africa, Total will drill by end-2012 for the first time in an Ivory Coast
block acquired two years ago, he noted.
Total
has said it plans to grow its oil and gas output by 3% this year and 2.5%
annually through 2014, assuming crude price stay around $100 a barrel.
Pancontinental Oil & Gas and its wholly owned
subsidiary Afrex Limited together with partner FAR has received approval from
the Kenyan Ministry of Energy and Petroleum for the farm-out of the onshore
portion of Kenyan exploration area Block L6 in the Lamu Basin. Block L6 is
partly onshore and partly offshore.
Block L6/L8
Under
the terms of the farm-in with Milio E&P Limited and Milio International
(“Milio”), Pancontinental will be fully funded through the drilling and testing
of a high impact onshore exploration well in Block L6 expected to spud in H1
2015.
Pancontinental
will also be fully funded through the acquisition, processing and
interpretation of a regional onshore 1,000 kilometre 2D seismic survey. This is
expected to confirm a number of prospects in onshore L6 as drill targets. This
seismic program is expected to commence in April 2014.
Pancontinental
retains a 16% interest in the onshore part of Block L6 and also preserves its
40% interest in the highly prospective offshore part of Block L6 which operator
FAR has estimated to contain substantial prospective resources. FAR is also
currently in discussions with parties to farm-in to drill an offshore well in
Block L6.
Block
L6 is well situated in relation to Kenyan coastal communities and
infrastructure.
An
onshore oil or gas development has the potential to contribute significantly to
Kenya’s growing near-term energy needs.
Two
of the main Prospects covered by 3D seismic offshore L6 are the Kifaru and
Kifaru West Miocene Reef prospects, which share similar characteristics to the
Sunbird Prospect currently being drilled by Pancontinental and its joint
venture partners in offshore Kenya area L10A.
Barry
Rushworth,
CEO and Director of Pancontinental commented:
“We
are very pleased that the Kenyan Ministry of Energy and Petroleum has approved
the farm-out agreement announced on 4 February 2014. Pancontinental retains a
healthy 16% free-carried interest onshore and additionally has the benefit of
retaining its 40% interest offshore where we are also seeking a farminee for
drilling. This farm-in deal secures funding for evaluating the significant
potential of the onshore part of Block L6 and to help unlock the potential of
the wider Lamu basin in which Pancontinental has a very large acreage position
of some 20,000 square kilometres gross.
“The
offshore area already has several Prospects covered by 3D seismic and ready for
drilling including the large Kifaru and Kifaru West Miocene Reef Prospects. A
number of other reefs have also been tentatively identified on 2D seismic.”
Block L17/L18
|
Working interest
|
100%
|
|
Operator
|
EAX*
|
|
Net prospective resources
|
1,088 mmboe
|
|
Work programme
|
Seismic acquisition and
exploration drilling
|
|
* EAX is a wholly owned
subsidiary of Afren Plc
|
|
Overview
Blocks L17 and L18 are in the Lamu Coastal Basin, offshore south-east Kenya, covering an area of approximately 4,881 km2. They are situated in water depths varying from a few feet along the shoreline to up to around 2,625 ft in the Pemba Channel. There are several potential source rocks for the Tertiary and Cretaceous plays in the southern areas of the basin including the Permo-Triassic Karoo interval, the Middle Jurassic and high Total Organic Carbon (TOCs) are recorded within the Eocene section in the Pemba-5 well. There are oil seeps in the Lamu Basin and Pemba Island linked to a Jurassic source which implies that the structures in Blocks L17 and L18 are most likely oil bearing. The hydrocarbons are expected to have been generated in the deep Pemba trough south of Block L18 and in the Tembo Trough to the east. In January 2012, Afren completed the acquisition of 1,207 km of additional 2D seismic data targeting the deeper water portion of the blocks. Interpretation of the data has identified four new highly encouraging prospects, in addition to the previously mapped prospects in the shallow water. These prospects represent a major new play and together have increased mean prospective resources on the blocks, from 94 mmboe to 2,021 mmboe, sincethe Black Marlin acquisition. As a result Afren, in close consultation with the Ministry of Energy, completed the acquisition of 1,006 km2 3D seismic during December 2012, in lieu of the well commitment, to better understand the deep water prospectivity prior to exploration drilling. In addition, we commissioned an onshore 2D seismic survey of 120 km in September 2012 to simultaneously continue maturation of the shallow water/onshore play. This survey was completed in December 2012. Interpretation and rock property studies on the 120 km onshore 2D seismic and the1,006 km2 offshore 3D seismic are underway. The seismic data has highlighted an expansive shallow-water/onshore trend called the Mombasa High.
Blocks L17 and L18 are in the Lamu Coastal Basin, offshore south-east Kenya, covering an area of approximately 4,881 km2. They are situated in water depths varying from a few feet along the shoreline to up to around 2,625 ft in the Pemba Channel. There are several potential source rocks for the Tertiary and Cretaceous plays in the southern areas of the basin including the Permo-Triassic Karoo interval, the Middle Jurassic and high Total Organic Carbon (TOCs) are recorded within the Eocene section in the Pemba-5 well. There are oil seeps in the Lamu Basin and Pemba Island linked to a Jurassic source which implies that the structures in Blocks L17 and L18 are most likely oil bearing. The hydrocarbons are expected to have been generated in the deep Pemba trough south of Block L18 and in the Tembo Trough to the east. In January 2012, Afren completed the acquisition of 1,207 km of additional 2D seismic data targeting the deeper water portion of the blocks. Interpretation of the data has identified four new highly encouraging prospects, in addition to the previously mapped prospects in the shallow water. These prospects represent a major new play and together have increased mean prospective resources on the blocks, from 94 mmboe to 2,021 mmboe, sincethe Black Marlin acquisition. As a result Afren, in close consultation with the Ministry of Energy, completed the acquisition of 1,006 km2 3D seismic during December 2012, in lieu of the well commitment, to better understand the deep water prospectivity prior to exploration drilling. In addition, we commissioned an onshore 2D seismic survey of 120 km in September 2012 to simultaneously continue maturation of the shallow water/onshore play. This survey was completed in December 2012. Interpretation and rock property studies on the 120 km onshore 2D seismic and the1,006 km2 offshore 3D seismic are underway. The seismic data has highlighted an expansive shallow-water/onshore trend called the Mombasa High.
Outlook
Preparations are underway for the 2015 two well drilling campaign on the Mombasa High anticline which extends over 80 km from Mombasa to the Shimoni Peninsular. This giant structure sits on the western margin of the Tembo Trough which has recently been tested by BG Group on the Sunbird-1 oil discovery, Block L10A. The Sunbird-1 well encountered a 46 ft oil column in a Miocene reef and is the first oil discovery offshore Kenya. The confirmation of an oil prone petroleum system within the Tembo Trough has significantly derisked Afren’s prospects on the flanks of this basin.An airborne gravity and magnetic survey was acquired over the Mombasa High structure in Q2 2014 to allow the optimal positioning of a 250 line km 2D seismic survey which will be acquired later in the year. The seismic survey will be used to define the location of the exploration wells.
Preparations are underway for the 2015 two well drilling campaign on the Mombasa High anticline which extends over 80 km from Mombasa to the Shimoni Peninsular. This giant structure sits on the western margin of the Tembo Trough which has recently been tested by BG Group on the Sunbird-1 oil discovery, Block L10A. The Sunbird-1 well encountered a 46 ft oil column in a Miocene reef and is the first oil discovery offshore Kenya. The confirmation of an oil prone petroleum system within the Tembo Trough has significantly derisked Afren’s prospects on the flanks of this basin.An airborne gravity and magnetic survey was acquired over the Mombasa High structure in Q2 2014 to allow the optimal positioning of a 250 line km 2D seismic survey which will be acquired later in the year. The seismic survey will be used to define the location of the exploration wells.
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