Norwegian independent BW Energy has initiated its 2021 Gabon drilling campaign with the spudding of the Hibiscus Extension well on the Dussafu Marin Permit. This will be followed by drilling at Tortue and Hibiscus North.
The company considers Hibiscus Extension as its largest potential impact well this year. The Borr Norve jack-up drilling rig will then proceed to drill the final production well at Tortue before drilling another exploration well at Hibiscus North to further test the significant upside at Dussafu.
Hibiscus and Tortue are two out of a total of six discovered fields within the Dussafu Permit offshore Gabon.
The Hibiscus Extension well (DHIBM-2) is located about 56 km offshore Gabon in 119 m water depth. The well is planned as a vertical well to test structure, oil and reservoir presence in what is believed to be a possible northerly extension of the Gamba reservoir in the Hibiscus field. The DHIBM-2 well is positioned approximately 3 km northwest of the Hibiscus discovery well (DHIBM-1) drilled by the joint venture in 2019. The DHIBM-1 well and its appraisal sidetrack established a 2P gross recoverable reserve of 46.1 MMbbls at the Hibiscus field.
The DHIBM-2 well is expected to take around 30 days to drill and log to a total depth of 3,500 metres. In the event of success at DHIBM-2, one or two appraisal sidetracks may be drilled to further delineate the field.
Success at the Hibiscus Extension well and sidetracks could significantly increase the total reserves at Hibiscus. The Hibiscus/Ruche development project, based on the already discovered reserve at Hibiscus, is currently planned to consist of a converted jackup tied back to the FPSO with 12 development wells drilled in two phases, with first oil in early 2023. The additional reserves at Hibiscus, if proven by the DHIBM-2 well, would require additional wells and possibly a converted jackup to fully develop the potential in the area.
