27 March 2014 – BG Group has spun the bit on a wildcat in a block off Tanzania, with drilling set to take 55 days.
The UK major spudded the Taachui well on the north-west margin of Block 1 on Monday with the drillship Deepsea Metro 1, block partner Ophir Energy said.
BG is targeting gross mean pre-drill recoverable resource estimates of 1.4 trillion cubic feet of gas in reservoirs of Cretaceous age, Ophir said.
Planned total depth is around 4050 metres.
Ophir has also revealed that is has spudded the Affanga Deep-1 well in the Gnondo licence off Gabon on Saturday using the drillship Vantage Titanium Explorer.
Planned total depth is 4500 metres and the well is set to take 35 days to complete.
The well is targeting the proven Ogooue Delta play. Ophir was recently unsuccessful at the Padouck Deep-1 pre-salt well in the Ntsina licence off Gabon, using the same drillship.
The probe hit thicker-than-expected Gamba and Coniquet-Dentale reservoir sands in a pre-salt section, but there were no significant hydrocarbon shows.
However minor shows were interpreted at shallower intervals, providing evidence of a working hydrocarbon system in the North Gabon basin.
The operator attributed the well failure to a lack of seal and trap.
*Eoin O’Cinneide – Upstreamonline