Exploration

Chariot announces results from Anchois-3 well offshore Morocco

Anchois-3ST has been drilled to a total measured depth of 3,045 m. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

Africa-focused transitional energy group, Chariot Limited, has announced preliminary results from the Anchois-3 well drilling campaign at the Anchois gas project in the Lixus Offshore licence offshore Morocco

The Anchois-3 Main Hole (Anchois-3ST) has been safely and efficiently drilled to a total measured depth of 3,045 m by the Stena Forth drillship in 349m of water.

Preliminary interpretation indicates multiple good quality gas bearing reservoirs were found in the B sand appraisal interval as anticipated, but the associated gas pays are now interpreted to be lower than the pre-drill geological model. Other target reservoirs beneath the B sands were also encountered but were water wet. The appraisal target reservoirs of the C and M sand were drilled deeper than the gas bearing sands in the Anchois-2 well and into the water-leg at this down-dip location.

The Anchois North Flank exploration prospect was found to have well-developed O sand reservoirs, with associated gas shows, but also water wet. The Main Hole has now been plugged and abandoned, without flow testing, and the drillship is being demobilised. Further detailed work by the partnership will be done to define the next steps for the project.

Adonis Pouroulis, CEO of Chariot, said, “The Anchois East drilling campaign has evaluated all of the pre-drill reservoir targets, however results have not delivered as anticipated or in line with the excellent results of the previously drilled Anchois 2 well. The primary exploration objectives were unsuccessful however, we did demonstrate the extension of gas bearing reservoirs in the main appraisal B sands albeit with thinner columns than estimated and data acquired from the other reservoirs will be useful for our understanding of the field. We will now work with our joint venture partners to determine the forward plan.”

Energean enjoys 45% share in the Lixus offshore licence as operator, while Chariot holds 30% and ONHYM 25%.

Chevron Nigeria, NNPC convert five assets into PIA terms

NNPC and CNL sign asset conversion to PIA

Mele Kyari and Michelle Pflueger, director of deepwater and PSC, CNL, sign documents. (Image source: NNPC Ltd)

Chevron Nigeria (CNL) and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation have concluded the conversion of five of its joint venture (JV) assets into the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 terms to leverage its investor-friendly approach over the erstwhile petroleum profit tax

The oil major opted voluntary conversion that is applicable for oil prospecting licenses (OPL) and oil mining leases (OML) holders under the old regime.

As for existing OPLs and OMLs nearing expiration, the new PIA regime automatically recognises them as petroleum prospecting licenses (PPLs) and petroleum mining leases (PMLs) upon their expiration.

The conversion of five OMLs into four PPLs and 26 PMLs as per the new PIA terms not only benefits Chevron but also boosts Nigeria's domestic gas market while expanding its global presence.

The PIA has been a major driver of NNPC's exceptional net profit of N3.297 trillion that comprised its 2023 audited financial statement.

Long-term partner

“Over the years, Chevron has been a partner of choice that has not contemplated completely divesting/exiting (oil production in) the shallow water and we are proud of them,” said Mele Kyari, group CEO of NNPC, defining Chevron Nigeria as a reliable partner of the corporation.

The partners are aiming to reach a production target of 165,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) by the end of the year, revealed Bala Wunti, chief upstream investment officer, NNPC. He acknowledged Chevron Nigeria's commitment to maintaining network stability and facilitating gas supply especially to the domestic market.

The Dangote Fertiliser Plant that opened in 2022 runs on natural gas supply from Chevron that was ensured by a gas sale and aggregation agreement signed in 2019.

Shelf Drilling awarded jack-up rig contracts in West Africa

The company has secured two rig contracts. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

Shelf Drilling has secured a contract for the Shelf Drilling Mentor and a letter of award for the Shelf Drilling Achiever

While a US$60mn deal for Shelf Drilling Mentor will be covering 10 wells and an estimated duration of 450 days in direct continuation of the rig’s current campaign in Nigeria, Shelf Drilling Achiever will kick-start a multi-year campaign in October.

Shelf Drilling has already been proactive in Nigeria since last year., and its Tenacious jack-up rig is currently deployed offshore Angola.

Strong rig market

Anticipating contract execution soon, the company is currently mobilising the Shelf Drilling Achiever rig to West Africa on a dry transport carrier to arrive by September. Concurrently, Shelf Drilling is mobilising the Main Pass IV rig using the same dry transport carrier, and this rig is also expected to commence operations before the end of 2024.

Greg O’Brien, CEO of Shelf Drilling, said, “We are very pleased with these two awards, which build on our leading position in West Africa and demonstrate the strength of this market. These awards further support our decision to mobilise the two rigs from the Middle East, and we are confident that operations for the Main Pass IV will also commence shortly after the rig’s arrival.”

Sound Energy completes workovers on gas wells in Tendrara

Work over operations on the gas wells TE-6 and TE-7 have been completed. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

Transition energy company, Sound Energy, has confirmed the release and demobilisation of the Star Valley Rig 101 to the Tendrara Production Concession

The work over operations on the gas wells TE-6 and TE-7 have been fully completed. The wells are being prepared for long-term gas production into the micro-LNG plant currently under construction at site. The works were completed safely with no recordable incidents. The company acknowledged the well management team at Bedrock Drilling Ltd, subcontractors and suppliers, and the Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM) for their ongoing partnership and support.

The company has successfully replaced the tubing head spool and ran new corrosion resistant completion tubing into TE-7. The rig will be stacked at the TE-7 site, at no on-going cost to the company.

88 Energy announces H1 results

PEL 93 is more than 10 times larger than the company's Alaskan portfolio. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

88 Energy Limited has announced financial results for the half-year ending 30 June 2024

In February 2024, the company farmed-in and subsequently received transfer approval for a 20% working interest in Petroleum Exploration Licence (PEL 93) onshore Namibia. Approved by the Namibian Ministry of Mines and Energy, the transfer was facilitated by operator Monitor Exploration Limited as part of Stage 1 of the farm-in agreement. Monitor now holds a 55% WI with the remaining 25% shared across local entities, Legend Oil Namibia Pty Ltd and NAMCOR.

A three-stage farm-in agreement (FOA) for up to a 45% non-operated working interest in PEL 93 covering 18,500 sq km of underexplored acreage within the Owambo Basin in Namibia was initiated in November 2023 via the company's wholly owned Namibian subsidiary.

The company has identified Namibia as one of the last remaining under-explored onshore frontier basins and one of the world's most prospective new exploration zones. It has noted that PEL 93 is more than 10 times larger than its Alaskan portfolio and more than 70 times larger than Project Phoenix in Alaska.

Recent drilling results on nearby acreage has highlighted the potential of a new and underexplored conventional oil and gas play in the Damara Fold belt, referred to as the Damara Play. It is currently the subject of exploration drilling by ReconAfrica in their nearby PEL 73 block. Historical assessment utilised a combination of techniques and interpretation of legacy data to identify the Owambo Basin, as having significant exploration potential. Monitor utilised a range of geophysical and geochemical techniques to assess and validate the significant potential of the acreage since award of PEL 93 in 2018, identifying 10 independent structural closures from airborne geophysical methods and partly verified these using existing 2D seismic coverage.

In May 2024, the Company announced that Polaris Natural Resources Development Ltd (Polaris) was awarded, the 2D seismic acquisition program contract. Polaris mobilised vibroseis units and recording equipment to location in late June 2024 and the program was completed in July 2024. The fully funded 2D Seismic acquisition program acquired ~200-line km of 2D data with data processing now underway and anticipated to be finalised in Q4 2024.

Results of the new 2D seismic acquisition will be integrated with existing historical exploration data to refine current prospect interpretation. The results may validate up to 10 independent structural closures, maiden certified prospective resource estimate, and identify future potential drilling locations targeting the Damara play.

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