By Moses Akin Aremu
Kosmos Energy has taken the spotlight as the Western independent mostly associated with African frontier exploration.
The Dallas based independent didn’t get properly recognised for opening the Tano Basin offshore Ghana, even though it made the 2007 discovery on which Tullow Oil rode to world acclaim.
No one could ignore, however, its effort in the North West African margin.
Even when it comes up with dry holes back to back it is able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. The statement that its second phase of exploration offshore Mauritania and Senegal, “yielded the industry’s largest hydrocarbon discovery of the year at Yakaar-1”, masks the reality of three dry holes in that campaign, and the fact that the Yakaar-1 was the lone discovery.
The claim also conveniently hides the company’s frustration at not finding the sorely wanted oil reservoirs, outboard the gas that it had earlier encountered in the Tortue complex off those two countries in mid-2015.
Kosmos couches its disappointment in earth science speak. The campaign, it said, had provided “sub-surface data that will help us refine our understanding of how the petroleum systems offshore the two countries work”.
There are many influential entities who bet on Kosmos’ extraordinary ability to deliver on E&P projects, from exploration to production.
Gabriel Obiang Lima, Equatorial Guinea’s Minister for Hydrocarbons, is one, and we’d soon get to that.
BP is another. The British major is so much a worshipful admirer of the geoscientific competencies of this sleek American independent, that its agreement with Kosmos has extended beyond the partnership in NW Africa. Now they work together in Cote D’Ivoire and are jointly seeking prospective tracts elsewhere on the continent.
BP’s philosophy is: Kosmos understands the geology of Africa. It gets to do the foundational basin analysis and maps the fairways. It determines where the leads are and comes up with the play concepts. It generates the prospect inventory. It then works up the well locations and drills.
If there is a discovery and two appraisals follow successfully, BP takes up the development phase.
I am a Petroleum Exploration Geologist with over 50yrs experience in oil and gas exploration and drilling activities in d Niger Delta Nigeria. I am AAPG certified Petroleum Geologist since 2004. I would want to make a comment here based on my over 50yrs working experience in d Niger Delta Nigeria thus.
D observed failed wild cat and appraisal wells by king knows waves in NW Africa could be attributed to d inability to identify low HC bearing sand/zones. Caused by: bottom hole effect 2) Annulus effect 3) Geology. Which must have affected d high tech . HC indicator tools like d Dual Lateral and Dual induction tools to read low resistivity in HC bearing zones. These low resistive HC bearing sands are d characteristics of d Niger Delta. Nigeria. I found out that Numerous. Low resistive HC sands have been by passed in d Niger Delta by operators in d Niger Delta. D only tool not affected by bore hole effect and geology and annulus is ODOUR meter. and this tool must often a time were or have been ignored from on set of formation evaluation ops. Program. Relieing only on d advanced HC indicator tools. Just like penny wise pound foolish. In Hc O & G ops. All available tools must b acquired and evaluated.by experts. If low resistivity HC bearing sands are numerous in d Niger Delta Nigeria and have been proved to have been abandoned as water bearing talk more of d NWAfrican basins made of d deposit of d stranded sediments from d Niger Delta environment. I would like to advise that all d Data b re evaluated taking note of low resistive bearing sand. Thank u.