15 September 2015, Lagos – Conoil, the Nigerian independent is said to have hit the hydrocarbon sands in about eight levels in Anim-1.
In geological parlance, this figure, according to Africa Oil + Gas Report, is derived from a ‘first pass’ interpretation of Logging While Drilling (LWD) Tools.
According to the report, the company was running more detailed wireline facility in the past week.
This feat has renewed the interest of officials of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), who have been leading the campaign for oil companies operating in the country to embark on increased exploratory activities to ensure the discovery of more reserves to replace the country’s depleting hydrocarbon resources.
It was also gathered that five of those sands in OPL 290 are at least 40 feet thick, while the rest are between 20 to 25 feet.
According to the result of the geological analysis, the reservoirs are part of the Biafra sands sequence, which is ‘native’ to the south east offshore Niger Delta.
The discovery, it was learnt, was similar to the experience of the French oil major, Total in its discovery of the Amenam during a drilling campaign in 1990.
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Total was said to have drilled into 3,000 feet of shale in Amenam-1, without encountering a single pocket of sand.
The company however, emerged after the ordeal, into an entirely different deltaic sequence, hosting over six hydrocarbon reservoirs between 11,200 feet and 15,700 feet below sea level. Africa Oil + Gas Report noted that by the time a final investment decision on the field was taken eight years after, the French oil giant was proclaiming Amenam as a billion barrel tank.
However, the drilling experience in Conoil‘s Anim-1 was not so dramatic because in chugging through the massive shale, there were small sand intercalations.
Anim-1 was spud on June 30, 2015 with the Monarch rig, operated by Depthwize. The well is prognosed to reach total depth at 12,500 feet True Vertical Depth, (13,200 feet Measured Depth). The well will also fulfill the obligations of the Production Service Contract (PSC).
Conoil, with production of around 9,000 barrels of oil equivalent, has been aggressive with the drill bit on exploration plays in the last three years.
The company has recorded a string of discoveries, with the Ango field in Oil Mining Lease (OML) 59, which is now being completed and will soon be tied to existing production facilities in the lease, as one of the most popular discoveries by Conoil.
- This Day