US oil and gas company Noble Energy has made an oil discovery in Block I, located in Equatorial Guinea’s offshore sector
The well was drilled to a total depth of 4417 m and is expected to produce first oil in October 2019.
Noble is currently in the process of completing the 400-meter horizontal section of the Aseng 6P well and, using existing Aseng field infrastructure.
Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima, minister of mines and hydrocarbons, said, “We are excited to announce this discovery which could not have come at a more opportune time. We have been dedicated to developing our resources to build a better economy and create opportunities for our people and, it seems we are gaining momentum.”
“It’s always been our firm belief that our country is relatively underexplored. When companies drill offshore Equatorial Guinea, their likelihood for discovery is real. Noble Energy and partners are longtime friends of Equatorial Guinea, and it only fits that we should build on our oil and gas development efforts with them right by our side. This is great news for our economy, jobs creation and local content development,” he added.
The Aseng field consists of five subsea wells connected to an FPSO vessel. With a 40 per cent interest, Noble Energy is the operator. Other partners include Atlas Petroleum (29 per cent), Glencore Exploration (25 per cent) and Gunvor (6 per cent).
This year, Equatorial Guinea kicked off its endeavour to become Africa’s premier gas hub with the signing of definitive agreements with the Alen field partners and Punta Europa Plant owners to monetise gas from the Noble Energy-operated Alen field – a project known as the gas mega-hub.
As the country develops its gas resources, Minister Obiang Lima said earlier this year that it was also targeting a final agreement on its 2007 joint deal with Cameroon to develop gas condensate discoveries Yoyo and Yolanda on their maritime border.
