Indian Consortium set to Explore Gabon

The Indian Oil Corporation (IOC)-Oil India Limited (OIL) duo is all set to acquire a 90% participating interest in the exploration block ‘Venus’ in Gabon. The total cost of the project is close to $1.2 billion and is the biggest investment planned jointly by the two companies so far.

According to a report IOC offered its Board, the project is an excellent opportunity to enter into Gabon’s upstream petroleum sector. Considering a recovery factor of 30%, which is comparable to the BG-Remboue producing field, the likely recoverable reserves are estimated to be 167 million barrels, it said. The project, according to IOC, offered an attractive internal rate of return (IRR) of 35% and 44% for respective crude oil prices of $35 a barrel and $40 a barrel. “The economics of this block will vastly improve with additional likely upside reserves from the other identified prospects,” it said.

In a techno-commercial evaluation report submitted by the pair’s technical consultants, UK-based Exploration Consultants Limited (ECL) said that, “The basin shows evidence of a working petroleum system with a number of oil shows. The same is also supported by the producing oil field of British Gas-Remboue oil field adjacent to Venus.”

In total, ECL has identified 16 prospects after interpretation and mapping of the seismic and well data. The largest prospect with the best chance of success, as indicated by ECL, is found to be G-N’Dombo, which has most of the in-place reserves of 558 million barrels.