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Friday, April 18, 2014
A new discovery has been made off the coast of Cote d’Ivoire with the drilling of the Saphir-1XB exploration well on Bock-514 operated by France’s Total. The well encountered liquid hydrocarbons deep offshore in a frontier basin.
“Drilled in an abrupt margin play, this first well is the first discovery in the San Pedro Basin, a frontier exploration area in Ivory Coast,” commented Marc Blaizot, senior VP of Exploration. “Having confirmed the presence of a petroleum system containing light oil, we will next evaluate this very promising find and focus on its extension to the north and east.”
The Saphir-1XB is located in 2,300 meters of water and was drilled to a total depth of 4,655 meters, encountering around 40 meters of net pay in a series of 350 meters of reservoirs. The well was the first drilled on the block.
The data acquired during drilling are being analyzed and will be used to determine the area’s potential and design the delineation program. Total is pursuing its intensive exploration program in the area, with plans to drill two wells in Blocks CI-515 and CI-516 by year-end.
Total E&P Côte d’Ivoire operates Block CI-514 with a 54% interest, alongside CNR International (36%) and Petroci (10%).
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