Great progress has been made towards monetizing the existing gas and oil discoveries on the Etinde permit in the Gulf of Guinea offshore Cameroon, said Bowleven PLC, Edinburgh.
The fields on Block MLHP-7 are expected to be key contributors to proposed phase one development, and Block MLHP-5 will be the focus for the second phase.
A draft exploitation authorization application has been submitted to Cameroon authorities, and supporting workshops are under way. The workshops are intended to expedite approval of the final application that Bowleven expects to submit before the current exploration phase ends in December 2012.
A memorandum of understanding for a 10-year supply of gas from Etinde to a proposed fertilizer plant in Cameroon was signed in April 2012 by the prospective owners Ferrostaal AG and Cameroon’s state SNH and Bowleven. A gas sales term sheet is at an advanced negotiating stage, and discussions to conclude pricing and other terms continue. Financing options are under consideration.
Meanwhile, Bowleven has spudded the IM-5 appraisal-development well on MLHP-7. The primary objective is to determine reservoir and fluid properties of the Middle Isongo sands. The secondary objective is to explore the potential of the Intra Isongo reservoir sands. Upper Isongo reservoir sands, which were encountered as gas bearing in the previous four IM wells, are prognosed to be beneath the gas-water contact and hence water bearing at this location.
The well, 1 km south of IM-3, is projected to 3,475 m in 56 m of water and has been designed to enable suspension as a future producing well.
The jackup has been contracted for a minimum of two firm wells. The location and timing of the second well remain flexible pending results from technical work and the outcome of IM-5.
Bowleven is at an advanced stage of discussion with a preferred bidder regarding farmout of part of its interest in the Bomono permit. Drilling locations have been identified, and site preparation is under way. Drilling depends on securing a land rig and may slip into 2013, beyond the first exploration phase of the PSC. Bowleven has submitted a request to SNH to accommodate this potential eventuality.
