Eni SPA, with a second natural gas discovery in deep water off Ghana, has consulted the Ministry of Energy and Ghana National Petroleum Corporation about fast-tracking what could become the first nonassociated gas project in the country.
Eni’s Gye Nyame-1 discovery well on the Offshore Cape Three Points Block 50 kilimetres off the coast went to 3,349 metres in 519 metres of water and encountered an unspecified but large thickness of gas-condensate in sands with excellent reservoir characteristics, the company said.
Gye Nyame-1 is 16 kilometres east of and on the same block with Eni’s Sankofa gas discovery, which is 35 kilometres east of giant Jubilee oil field. Eni said it will mount a delineation program to further assess oil mineralization discovered in underlying sands at Gye Nyame.
Consolidating the Sankofa and Gye Nyame discoveries would enable Eni to supply the domestic market and ship LNG by constructing onshore facilities. Eni, through its Eni Ghana Exploration & Production Ltd. unit, operates the block with 47.22% interest. Other partners are Vitol Upstream Ghana Ltd. 37.78% and GNPC 15% with a back-in option for a further 5%.
Eni is also finalizing the farm-in to the Keta block as operator with a 35% stake. Keta is along eastern Ghana’s marine boundary with Togo, where Eni acquired two exploration licenses in 2010. Partners in the Keta block joint venture are Afren Energy Ghana Ltd., a subsidiary of Afren Plc, with 35%, Mitsui E&P Ghana Keta Ltd. 20%, and GNPC 10%.
