BOWLEVEN HAS DISCOVERED further hydrocarbon bearing zones in the Sapele-1 exploration well on the Etinde permit in the Douala basin, offshore Cameroon.p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">BOWLEVEN HAS DISCOVERED further hydrocarbon bearing zones in the Sapele-1 exploration well on the Etinde permit in the Douala basin, offshore Cameroon.
Bowleven said the well, located in Block MLHP-5, had encountered hydrocarbon-bearing pay in both the Tertiary and Cretaceous objectives.
The well intercepted about four metres of net hydrocarbon pay in the Cross-cut event, with average porosity of 17 per cent, and a further four metres of net pay was found in the Epsilon complex with an average porosity of 13 per cent. The company had earlier reported it had intercepted hydrocarbons in a Miocene zone and two shallower zones called Lower and Deep Omicron.
Bowleven said, from its initial estimates, Sapele-1 held mean reserves of 217 mn barrels of oil in place. Chief executive Kevin Hart said the Sapele-1 well had the potential to be “transformational” for the company.
“The discovery of oil at Sapele-1 in high quality Miocene reservoirs and in shallow water depths is significant in terms of both acreage-wide prospectivity and potential future development,” he said.
“The Cretaceous result also validates the play within this part of the Douala basin and has potentially significant implications for the overall prospectivity of the Etinde permit.”
Bowleven said it believed the well had intersected additional sands at its current total depth of 4539 m and further Cretaceous targets had also been identified. As a result the company plans to continue drilling deeper after completing current logging activities.
