27 March 2013, Accra – Russian oil explorer and producer, Lukoil is to resume drilling off the coast of Ghana in November, according to reports.
Lukoil Overseas, Lukoil’s operator of its international upstream
projects, has acquired the rights to become the operator of the
offshore exploration projects CI-101 and CI-401 in Ivory Coast and Cape Three Points Deep Water, CTPDW, in Ghana from the Vanco group. Lukoil Overseas acquired a 56.66 percent stake in these projects in July 2006.
Since then, three deepwater exploration wells have been drilled at the CTPDW block (Dzata and Cheetah structures), hitting deposits with noncommercial hydrocarbon reserves. Vanco has a 28.34 percent stake in the project, and the Ghanaian state company GNPC 15 percent.
The CTPDW block is on the Gulf of Guinea shelf 31 miles to 62 miles (50 kilometers to 100 kilometers) offshore. The closest port is Takoradi.
The block is 1,985 square miles (5,142 square kilometers) in
area in waters from 656 feet to 9,842 feet (200 meters to 3,000
meters) deep. GNPC has the right to increase its stake by five percent when commercial development begins.
In 2010-2011, at the CTPDW Dzata and Cheetah structures, three
deepwater prospecting wells were drilled, opening an oil and gas
condensate deposit and confirming the presence of tight sand of high quality, but commercial amounts of hydrocarbons were not found.
In order to be profitable, production on the Ghanaian shelf has to have reserves of some 150-200 million barrels of oil.
Lukoil views Africa as a promising region for oil production. But
after drilling four wells in Cote d’Ivoire and three in Ghana, the company decided to take a time-out to evaluate the data obtained.
An updated geological model and programme for further work at CTPDW is being put together now.
Lukoil got approval from the Ghanaian authorities last year for an extension of the timeframe for carrying out the offshore project for one year – until June 30, 2013.
