By Toyin Akinosho
The Nigerian junior, Conoil Producing, has encountered “possibly commercial sized” hydrocarbon footage in a cretaceous sequence in the Toju Ejanla-1 in Oil Mining Lease(OML) 103 in the western flank of the Niger Delta.
The well was drilled in a corner of the lease that is the boundary between the Niger Delta and the Benin Basin.
The company is using the Adriatic-1, a jack up rig operated by Shelf Drilling.
Discoveries have been made in two reservoirs but details are still sketchy as testing/sampling is still ongoing to know the extent of their materiality.
Conoil is not in a hurry to drill either an appraisal well or other prospects that are on trend with the Toju Ejanla structure, but would rather integrate the data into ongoing studies.
It is unusual to find hydrocarbon in the Cretaceous sequence of the Niger Delta, which is a tertiary basin. The North western flank of the Niger Delta, in which OML 103 is domiciled, is close to the boundary of the Benin Basin, whose sedimentary deposits are located in the cretaceous, an older geological sequence. Which begs the question as to whether this “discovery” is in the Benin Basin, or in the Niger Delta. Either way, if it is announced to be commercial, it would be a significant find.
