21 August 2012, Sweetcrude, MALABO – UK company, Ophir Energy has hit new gas while drilling its Fortuna East-1 well off the coast of Equatorial Guinea.
The African-focused company said the exploration well in its 80%-owned and operated Block R successfully encountered gas in the eastern lobe of the Fortuna Complex as well as discovering gas in the deeper Viscata exploration target.
Fortuna East-1 is the fourth gas discovery made by the company, and the sixth in the block to date.
Primarily targeting the eastern lobe of the Fortuna Complex, the well hit a 55-metre gas bearing column containing 40 metres of net pay in the Late Miocene sands.
Ophir said the gas quality appeared to be consistent with that observed in the previous gas discoveries in Block R.
The recoverable mean resource from the eastern lobe has been estimated as 426 billion cubic feet of gas, exceeding pre-drill estimates of 304 bcf.
Ophir chief executive Nick Cooper was pleased that Fortuna East-1 had added further resources to the Fortuna complex.
“The result increases the Fortuna Complex’s 2C resources by 114% to 798 bcf (133 million barrels of oil equivalent), and provides further confidence in the potential of the exploration inventory,” Cooper said.
Ophir said the well’s secondary objective of testing the Viscata exploration target had yielded an eight-metre gas column within good quality reservoir with a porosity of 21% and a net to gross pay of 48%.
The well also encountered the laterally equivalent intervals of the Tranquilla and Iambe prospects, confirming good quality reservoir and significantly de-risking the forethrust play across the block.
Cooper said the semi-submersible Eirik Raude used on Fortuna East-1 had now moved to drill Fortuna West-1, the final well in the company’s 2012 Equatorial Guinea drilling programme.
“Fortuna West-1’s primary objective is to test the western lobe of the Fortuna Complex. In addition, the well will provide critical information to define the scale of the Viscata discovery and explore the Felix secondary exploration target,” Cooper said.
