Tullow Oil discovers oil onshore Northern Kenya

Tullow Oil’s Agete-1 exploration well in Block 13T onshore Northern Kenya has discovered and sampled moveable oil with an estimated 100 m of net oil pay in good-quality sandstone reservoirs. Tullow Oil operates the Agete-1 well with a 50% interest, and Africa Oil (50%) has a non-operated interest.

The Agete-1 wildcat well is part of a major exploration campaign and has made the fifth consecutive oil discovery in the first of a chain of multiple rift basins across Tullow’s acreage in the region. This discovery de-risks several prospects located to the north and is on trend with the Twiga South, Ekales and Ngamia oil discoveries, adding to the significant resource base already discovered.

“The highly prolific nature of this basin is once again proven by this significant discovery. We would expect to see a high rate of success on all exploration wells in this basin based on results to date,” Africa Oil president and CEO Keith Hill said.

Sakson Group’s Rig PR5 drilled Agete-1 to 1,930 m TD. Following completion of logging operations, the well will be suspended for future flow testing, which will confirm the net pay count. The rig will then move to drill the Ewoi-1 wildcat east of this basin, targeting a rift flank prospect similar to the recent Etuko oil discovery.

Elsewhere in Kenya, exploration and appraisal activities continue to accelerate with the Amosing-1 well in Block 10BB expected to commence drilling before the end of November with Weatherford’s Rig 804. The Etuko-1 well test in Block 10BB is also scheduled to commence this month with PR Marriott’s Rig 46 rig, and the Ekales-1 well test is scheduled to commence with the S.M.P.’s SMP-5 workover unit in early December.

“A fifth consecutive oil discovery onshore Northern Kenya highlights the emerging world-class exploration and production potential within our rift basin acreage,” Angus McCoss, exploration director at Tullow, explained. “An intensive campaign for 2014 includes appraisal and exploration within this first basin and pioneering wells targeting the prospectivity throughout the entire chain of similar rift basins.”