By John Ankromah
Ophir Energy reports that there were no significant hydrocarbon shows in the targeted reservoirs in its Padouck Deep-1 well in the Ntsina Block offshore Gabon.
“The key pre-drill risk was that of seal and trap integrity”, the Australian company says in a release. “The lack of the anticipated thin salt drape over this high relief prospect and the lack of sealing shales within the targeted reservoirs appear to be a cause of the prospect’s failure”.
Ophir has a 50% net operated interest in the Ntsina Block. Padouck Deep-1 is the first of the company’s “multi-well drilling” programme offshore West Africa. It is a prospect the company considered large enough to allocate 400MMBOE contingent resources.
Padouck Deep-1 was drilled by the Vantage Titanium Explorer drillship to a depth of 3,297m TVDSS, targeting the Cretaceous Gamba and Coniquet/Dentale sands in the pre-salt section. “Thicker than expected, good quality Gamba and Coniquet/Dentale reservoir sands were encountered”. While the targeted reservoirs didn’t work out, “minor shows were interpreted at shallower intervals providing evidence of a working hydrocarbon system in the offshore North Gabon Basin”, Ophir claims. “In addition, well log responses in the deeper pre-salt stratigraphy are similar to those observed onshore Gabon where they are indicative of an interbedded pre-salt source and reservoir system. Full analysis and interpretation of the log data is ongoing”.
The Vantage Titanium Explorer will now move to the Gnondo Block to drill the Affanga Deep prospect which has the potential to hold mean recoverable resources of 170MMB and to derisk several follow on prospects which could provide the basis for a hub development. The rig will then return to target the Okala pre-salt prospect on the Mbeli Block.
