Statoil/Exxon Well Adds to Tanzania’s Offshore Bounty

Tanzania can add another natural gas discovery to its totals for the year as Statoil and ExxonMobil record a hit with drilling on Block 2. The partners made a large discovery with the drilling of the Lavani well. During drilling the Lavani well encountered 95 meters of excellent quality reservoir sandstone with high porosity and high permeability.

Based on logging results the well confirmed a new high-impact discovery for Statoil and ExxonMobil with a preliminary resource estimate of 3 Tcf of gas in place.

“The result from Lavani, which is only 16 km south of our recent Zafarani discovery, confirms the high potential in Block 2. We are also pleased to announce that the recently drilled Zafarani sidetrack added another 1 Tcf of gas in place. This is in addition to the up to 5 Tcf announced in February. The results so far mark an important step towards a possible natural gas development in Tanzania,' says executive VP of Exploration for Statoil, Tim Dodson.

“The Lavani discovery demonstrates how Statoil’s strategy of focusing on high-impact opportunities is paying off and supports the company’s ambition for international growth,” Dodson adds.

The Lavani well, drilled in 2,400-meters water depth, is the second exploration well in Block 2 – which covers an area of approximately 5,500 sq km. The well was drilled by Ocean Rig Poseidon with operations still ongoing.

Statoil operates Block 2 on behalf of TPDC and has a 65% working interest, with ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Tanzania holding the remaining 35%.