“The net oil pay logged in Ngamia-1 is more than double that of any of Tullow’s East African exploration wells drilled to date,” said Tullow Kenya Country Manager, Martin Mbogo/FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 4 – The companies exploring for oil in Turkana have discovered an additional 43 metres of potential oil pay at the Ngamia-1 well, and have suspended exploration drilling at a depth of 2,340 metres.
Tullow Oil and Africa Oil said the extra discovery in the lower section of Ngamia-1 was in addition to the more than 100 meters of net light oil pay in the Upper Lokhone Sand section previously reported.
Drilling concluded 360 metres shallower than previous estimates after the well encountered the basin bounding fault, making it unnecessary to continue Ngamia-1 drilling operations, Tullow announced on Wednesday.
“The net oil pay logged in Ngamia-1 is more than double that of any of Tullow’s East African exploration wells drilled to date,” said Tullow Kenya Country Manager, Martin Mbogo.
The Ngamia-1 well is divided into Upper and Lower Lokhone sands.
The upper section encountered over 100 metres of net oil pay in an overall oil bearing section of 650 metres, while the lower section encountered an overall oil bearing section of 150 metres.
“Tullow has not however been able to accurately calculate the net pay encountered in this lower section due to disruption caused by the proximity of the fault zone,” said Mbogo.
The oil companies now intend to drill a second well the Twiga 1 well, 30 kilometres northeast in Block 13T along the western basin.
The Weatherford Rig 804 will now move to Block 13T where the wildcat well will spud in the third quarter of 2012.
“Thereafter, Rig 804 will return to Ngamia-1 to complete flow testing. A second rig is being mobilised to drill the Tullow Operated Block 10A Paipai prospect in Marsabit County late in the third quarter of 2012,” Mbogo announced.
In March, the explorer announced Ngamia-1 held Kenya’s first oil discovery, one in a series of major hydrocarbon finds in east Africa that has made the region a hotspot in oil and gas exploration.
