Fugro-Geoteam AS has won a contract to undertake a 3D seismic survey in Q2 2012 in Pancontinental’s licence area L6 offshore Kenya
The marine seismic data acquisition specialist will conduct a survey covering 680sq km and budgeted at US$13.67 million, as Pancontinental attempts to enhance the chance of success of the L6 drilling, which has been planned for the 2013 licence year.
Licence area L6 is situated in the Lamu Basin and within the Tana River delta, north of recent natural gas discoveries off the coasts of Tanzania and Mozambique.
Pancontinental CEO and executive director Barry Rushworth said: “Modern high quality 3D seismic surveying is now able to provide high-definition images of subsurface structures and this has proven to be highly successful in the series of large gas discoveries offshore Mozambique and Tanzania.
“In the northern part of the East African margin offshore Kenya we are aiming for oil rather gas in our four licences.”
Rushworth said that the company had predicted that offshore Kenya would prove to be oil-prone rather than gas-prone and cited striking successes off the coasts of both Mozambique and Tanzania.
Pancontinental, which has a 40 per cent interest in the L6 licence, has planned to commence operations in the northern part of offshore East Africa with its first well on the Mbawa Prospect in Kenya L8 in the third quarter of 2012.
“New techniques, particularly 3D seismic, have globally enhanced the explorer’s ability to find oil and gas and the high success rates in Mozambique and Tanzania prove that these techniques are extremely effective offshore East Africa,” Rushworth added.
“We believe that 3D seismic should prove to be equally as effective in our Kenyan areas.”
Pancontinental has already participated in three 3D surveys, which acted as preliminaries to drilling in its other Kenyan areas, and it recently completed a successful capital raising programme that has allowed the ASX-listed company to fund increased activity in the region.