BG Group has announced its fifth consecutive Tanzanian gas discovery following a successful drilling operation at its Mzia-1 exploration well in Block 1, offshore southern Tanzania
Mzia-1 is BG Group’s first discovery within the deeper Cretaceous section and will open an extensive new play fairway within the Group’s offshore acreage in Blocks 1, 3 and 4, according to the firm.
Preliminary evaluation of the results has indicated 55 metres of natural gas pay in good quality sands. An extensive logging programme has been completed, including the acquisition of pressure data and gas samples.
According to the firm, the well has derisked a number of adjacent Cretaceous prospects, which could form part of a future Mzia hub.
Prior to drilling Mzia-1, which lies approximately 45 kilometres off the Tanzanian coast in a water depth of 1,639 metres, BG Group had estimated mean total gross recoverable resources approaching 7 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas from its four previous discoveries drilled in Tanzania.
BG Group, which operates the well, has a 60 per cent interest in Blocks 1, 3 and 4 offshore Tanzania, with Ophir Energy holding the remaining 40 per cent interest.
According to Ophir Energy, the Metro 1 drillship will now move north to Block 3 to drill the Papa-1 well, which has a pre-drill mean estimated prospective resource of 3.1 tcf and a 40 per cent chance of success.
Ophir Energy chief executive officer Nick Cooper remarked, “Mzia-1 was the first definitive test of the Upper Cretaceous in Tanzania, and Ophir’s highest risk East African well to date.
“This play-opening result and other recently announced drilling have now proven the Upper Cretaceous slope play on the Tanzanian side of the Rovuma Delta and derisked an inventory of adjacent prospects of similar age.
“The success at Mzia-1 is a major step towards a Tanzanian LNG hub development in Block 1. We will now test the equivalent deeper play in the Rufiji Delta in Block 3 with the Papa-1 well,” he added.
