Sinopec to drill first well in Nigeria-São Tomé JDZ

CHINA PETROCHEMICAL CORP will drill its first exploration well in the Nigeria-São Tomé and Principe Joint Development Zone in July after a lengthy delay caused by a shortage of deepwater rigs.

Efforts to speed up exploration in Block 2 come as state-owned Sinopec seeks to clinch a takeover of Addax Petroleum Ltd., one of its partners in the joint development zone, or JDZ.
The TransOcean SEDCO-702 deepwater rig is due to arrive at Block 2 around July 1 and drilling will start immediately afterwards, according to an official with the JDZ.
Sinopec secured the production and sharing contract on the block in 2006, but hasn't been able to drill up to now due to a shortage of deepwater rigs, They declined to speculate on the Sinopec-operated block's potential reserves, but industry reports point to a pre-drill resource estimate of about 275mn barrels..