By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Apr. 15 -- Tanzania’s energy minister issued a license to an Aminex PLC subsidiary to develop Kiliwani North gas field on Songo Songo island off Tanzania.
Aminex’s Ndovu Resources Ltd. unit said it should be able to begin deliveries within a year from Kiliwani North’s estimated 40 bcf of gas in place and that it plans to drill the Fanjove North prospect that lies within the development area and may contain an independently estimated 200 bcf in place.
The Kiliwani North-1 well flowed at a rate of 40 MMcfd on a production test. The wellhead is less than 3 km from the nearest access point to the process facilities at the input end of the Songas common-user pipeline that delivers gas from Songo Songo field to the city of Dar es Salaam. The process facilities are being upgraded.
Ndovu has negotiated a memorandum of understanding for the future sale of gas to industrial users in the Dar es Salaam area.
Aminex said it expects to spud an exploratory well at nearby Nyuni Island within 2 months targeting a large gas prospect on the Nyuni PSA. It noted that the existing pipeline has limited capacity “but we may expect development of new pipeline infrastructure as a consequence of recent deepwater gas discoveries” (OGJ Online, Apr. 7, 2011).
Negotiations are being concluded with Tanzanian authorities for an enlarged Nyuni PSA to replace the existing PSA when it expires this year, the first renewal of an expired PSA in Tanzania.
If the Nyuni-2 well has not been concluded by the time the PSA expires, the authorities have indicated that they will extend the existing PSA to enable the well to be completed.
Partners in the Kiliwani North development license are Ndovu 65%, RAK Gas Commission 25%, and Key Petroleum and Bounty Oil 5% each.
Photo from Odfjell Drilling.
Photo from bp.
