Kudu 8 Spuds Offshore Namibia, 9 to Follow

The drilling program promised on Namibia’s Kudu Permit has begun. According to reports Tullow Oil has spud a wildcat well, the Kudu 8, in the Kudu East area of Production License 001 as part of the Kudu Phase II Project.

The Kudu 8 is being drilled by the Pride South Seas, with a primary objective to investigate the lateral shoreface extension of the Lower Cretaceous sandstone reservoir (K1 and K2), targeting a 200-400 Bcf structure. Tulllow is targeting 4,700 meters as the total depth.

The well is to be followed by Kudu 9 in a back-to-back drilling program. The last well drilled on the 4,577 sq km license was Shell's Kudu 5 in 1998.

Tullow says that the Kudu may contain an estimated 4 Tcf of natural gas, on the upside. If predictions pan-out the company may consider a GTL project. The objective of the 2007 appraisal program is to establish commercially productive flow rates from the extensive Kudu East reservoir originally tested by the Kudu-5 well. If this can be achieved, then a multi-tcf upside potential will be demonstrated therefore expanding the development options available for the Kudu field, hence the consideration of a GTL plant.

Currently whatever volumes are found are scheduled to be used for an 800MW power plant to be developed and operated by NamPower at Oranjemund. The produced electricity will be purchased by NamPower, for resale into the Namibian market, and by Eskom for the South African market.

The spudding of the Kudu 8 is just one well in Tullow’s ambitious drilling program over 2007. In Ghana the company was part of a discovery with the Mahogany- 1 well on the Kosmos Energy license. The company plans to spud a well on one of its own Ghanaian blocks in July/August. The company also, in conjunction with partner Heritage Oil, plans to appraise the Kingfisher Prospect in Uganda.