Jupiter-1 Hits Oil Offshore Sierra Leone

Partners exploring offshore Sierra Leone – Anadarko Petroleum Corp., Tullow Oil, and Repsol – have something to celebrate as the drilling of their latest well resulted in a discovery. The Jupiter-1 well on Block SL-07B-11 encountered hydrocarbons in the Upper Cretaceous age reservoir.

The Jupiter-1 discovery well encountered 98 net ft of hydrocarbon pay. Jupiter was drilled to a total depth of approximately 21,212 ft in water depths of approximately 7,215 ft in the Sierra Leone/Liberia Basin. The find follows the discoveries in the area of the Venus B-1 well, drilled in 2009, and the Mercury-1 well, drilled in 2010.

Once operations are complete at Jupiter, the rig will be mobilized to drill the Mercury-2 appraisal well in the same block.

"The Jupiter-1 well is a successful test that has been preserved for possible re-entry, as the area will likely require additional evaluation," said Bob Daniels, Anadarko Sr. VP, Worldwide Exploration. "We are planning potential drillstem testing (DST) in the basin, following the Mercury appraisal well, to provide additional information regarding reservoir quality and deliverability."

Angus McCoss, Exploration Director of Tullow, commented “Jupiter is the third discovery in the Liberian Basin by Tullow and its Partners and provides further support for the stratigraphic play in the region. The presence of a working petroleum system producing gas and light oil in the basin is encouraging. Our technical teams will continue evaluating prospectivity across our significant regional acreage position. We will further test the play through the drilling of Mercury-2 in Sierra Leone and Kosrou-1 which is currently drilling in Côte d’Ivoire.”