27th Aug 2014 08:31
LONDON (Alliance News) - Ophir Energy PLC Wednesday said it has completed drilling on the Tonel North-1 appraisal well on Block R offshore Equatorial Guinea, and noted a successful completion of a drill stem flow test on the Mzia-3 well in Block 1 offshore Tanzania.
The Africa-focused oil and gas company said the Mzia-3 appraisal well in Tanzania flowed slightly ahead of expectations at an average controlled rate of 90 million cubic feet per day for six days with peak flow of 101 million cubic feet per day, which it said was constrained by equipment limits.
It said the data acquired from the drill stem test and cores from the Mzia-3ST1 well will be incorporated into the planning of the production wells as part of development of the field.
The company said it will now drill the Kamba-1 exploration well in Block 4 offshore Tanzania, which will also target the shallower Pweza North structure.
In a separate statement Wednesday, BG Group, said the results from the drill-stem test on the Mzia discovery in Block 1 has provided further support for a hub development to supply a potential onshore liquefied natural gas project.
BG Group has a 60% interest in, and is operator of, Blocks 1, 3 and 4 offshore Tanzania, with Ophir Energy PLC holding 20% and Pavilion Energy 20%.
Ophir Energy said it also has completed drilling the Tonel North-1 appraisal well offshore Equatorial Guinea.
"The well encountered gas pay combined in the lower target sands but the upper sands appear to be low gas-saturation. Analysis of the well data is ongoing. The result is expected to marginally reduce the discovered volumes in the Tonel field but will not impact the commerciality of the base case 2.5 million metric tonnes per annum FLNG project," the company said.
A floating liquefied natural gas facility is able to process and convert natural gas to liquefied natural gas on site and ready for export. This is an economical and environmentally efficient method of liquefied natural gas production as it requires no pipelines to be built, nor onshore processing facilities.
"After a period of appraisal activity, Ophir now moves back to exploration, with two wells drilling simultaneously in Tanzania and Equatorial Guinea, results from both of which are expected before the end of September," said Chief Exeucitve Officer Nick Cooper in a statement.
Ophir Energy shares were trading at 227.30 pence Wednesday morning, up 0.2%, while BG Group shares were off 0.1% at 1,199.10p.
By Rowena Harris-Doughty; [email protected]; @rharrisdoughty
Copyright 2014 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
OPHR.LBG..L