British oil supermajor BP has announced that its recent three-well drilling campaign offshore Mauritania and Senegal has confirmed “the world-class scale of the gas resource in the region”.
Three appraisal wells drilled in 2019, GTA-1, Yakaar-2 and Orca-1, targeted a total of nine hydrocarbon-bearing zones. The wells encountered gas in high quality reservoirs in all nine zones.
The wells were the first in the region to be operated by BP. In total, they encountered 160 metres of net pay, growing confidence in the significant gas resources in the region. The overall drilling campaign was delivered 40 days ahead of schedule and $30Million under budget, BP said in a release published December 16, 2019.
Most recently, in November 2019, Orca-1 well in Block C8 offshore Mauritania, successfully encountered all five of the gas sands originally targeted. The well was then further deepened to reach an additional target, which also encountered gas.
Howard Leach, BP’s head of exploration, said: “This is an exciting result as it proves that our seismic data is identifying hydrocarbon reservoirs deeper than we had previously thought. We have identified a large prospective area with considerable resource potential in Southern Mauritania. We will now conduct further appraisal drilling to help inform future development decisions.”
The Greater Tortue Ahmeyim Phase 1 development was sanctioned in December 2018. The successful results of Yakaar-2 and Orca-1 could underpin future developments, including a possible new development in Yakaar-Teranga in Senegal and in the Bir Allah/Orca area in Southern Mauritania. The timings of both potential future developments will depend on the level of appraisal required, supporting commercial development plans and integrated gas master plans in the host nations.
BP’s partners in Block C8 in Mauritania are Kosmos Energy and SMHPM (Société Mauritanienne Des Hydrocarbures et de Patrimoine Minier). BP’s partners in the Cayar Profond block (which includes Yakaar-2) in Senegal are Kosmos Energy and Petrosen. BP’s partners in the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim unit are Kosmos Energy, SMHPM and Petrosen.
