By Toyin Akinosho
American minnow, Kosmos Energy will record approximately $75 million to exploration expense in its second quarter 2013 results, “associated with the results” of the Sipo-1 well, onshore Cameroon.
The highly publicized wildcat, drilled on the Ndian River Block in the Rio del Rey Basin(a finger of the Niger Delta Basin), failed to encounter commercial reservoirs. Kosmos says, however, the minor “oil and gas shows evidenced during drilling indicated a working petroleum system”.
Following the completion of drilling operations, including plugging and abandoning of the well, the drilling rig will be released. Full well assessment and the integration of drilling results into the Company’s geologic models is ongoing to determine forward exploration plans on Kosmos’ onshore Cameroon acreage position.
Kosmos is not known for onshore geology. The Mahogany discovery in Ghana, which marked the company’s arrival, was made in deepwater. Its anticipated 2013-2014 drilling in Morocco, in 2014, will be in water depths extending as far as 3,000metres.
Kosmos reports that Sipo-1 was drilled to a total depth of 1,725 meters (5,660 feet), targeting the Miocene Isongo Formation. It’s likely that the company would quit the block, in which it holds 100% interest. “Kosmos has now completed its drilling programme commitment on the Ndian River Block”, the company announced.
