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Thursday, August 28, 2014
Ophir Energy updated its operations in Tanzania, where it recently saw the successful flow test of the Mzia-3 well. The well was completed in November, encountering gas in the main Lower and Middle sand targets. As part of the current drilling campaign across in the East African country the Mzia-3 well was side-tracked and underwent a drill stem test (DST). The well flowed slightly ahead of expectations at an average controlled rate of 90 Mmcf/d for six days with peak flow of 101 Mmcf/d, constrained by equipment limits.
Ophir said the data acquired from the DST and cores from the Mzia-3ST1 well will be incorporated into planning of the production wells as part of development of the field.
The Deepsea Metro I drillship will now move to Block 4 to drill the Kamba-1 exploration well, targeting the shallower Pweza North structure
Across the continent in Equatorial Guinea, Ophir reported that the Tonel North-1 appraisal well on Block R has been completed. The well was drilled approximately 5 km north-east of the original Tonel-1 discovery well.
The well encountered gas pay combined in the lower target sands but the upper sands appear to be low gas-saturation. Analysis of the well data is ongoing. The result is expected to marginally reduce the discovered volumes in the Tonel field but will not impact the commerciality of the base case 2.5 Mmtpa FLNG project.
The Vantage Titanium Explorer drillship has now moved to complete the Silenus East-1 exploration well which is targeting around 420 Bcf of low-risk mean prospective gas resource as a primary target and will be deepened to test a secondary, high-impact but high-risk oil target that on current mapping could be a potentially extensive play across the block. The top hole of Silenus has already been previously drilled and the well is expected to complete within two weeks. There are several analogous shallow gas prospects to Silenus East in the Thrust Belt play sharing the same Direct Hydrocarbon Indicators. If successful, the well would de-risk around 1.2 Tcf of upside (including Silenus East volumes) in the immediate area that could provide an additional production hub for the FLNG development.
Nick Cooper, CEO, commented: “The Mzia-3 flow-test is another positive result on what will be a core asset in our Tanzanian LNG development. Momentum continues to build on that project with pre-FEED contracts awarded on both the Midstream and Upstream portions of the development.
“The Tonel North-1 result has slightly reduced the size of the Tonel field but this remains a commercial asset within the overall 2.5mmtpa Floating LNG project. The project still has the potential to be expanded to 3.0mmtpa once the current three well program has completed and results analyzed. We are now completing the Silenus East-1 exploration well, with results expected imminently.
“After a period of appraisal activity, Ophir now moves back to exploration, with two wells drilling simultaneously in Tanzania and Equatorial Guinea, results from both of which are expected before the end of September.”
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