06 February 2012, Seweetcrude, LONDON – Italian oil group, Eni, and its partners on the Keta block offshore eastern Ghana, have started drilling at the block being operated by the Italian firm.
Eni and UK independent, Afren, each hold a 35 per cent stake in the block while Japan’s Mitsui and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation maintain a 20 per cent and 10 per cent respectively.
Osman Shahenshah, Afren’s chief executive officer, disclosed to the London Stock Exchange that Eni Ghana exploration and production had started drilling the Nunya-1X exploration well, which was once known as Cuda-2, in the Volta River basin.
The prospect is reported to contain sandstones similar to those that have yielded significant discoveries elsewhere along the West Africa Transform Margin.
The operation is being carried out by the semi-submersible drilling rig, Transocean Marianas, Shahenshah said, maintaining that the company was pleased drilling had started.
He said: “The company is firmly engaged in its most active phase of exploration activity to date with multiple wells planned across Afren’s core areas, each of which has the potential to materially increase the company’s discovered reserves base.”
Afren had held a 70% stake in the Keta block until farming out a 35% stake and transferring operatorship of the project to Eni in 2011.
