Vaalco Energy Inc., Houston, reported a production rate of 2,000 b/d of oil on a gross basis—500 b/d net to the company—with no indication of hydrogen sulfide from the Etame 12-H development well offshore Gabon.
The well is being temporarily constrained at that production level while being optimized for efficiency. Drilled from the Etame platform to a measured depth of 3,450 m, Etame 12-H targeted the recently discovered, untapped lower lobe of the Gamba reservoir.
Etame 12-H is an offset well to the Etame 10-H well that began producing in February at 3,000 b/d, representing the first oil production from the recently commissioned Etame platform (OGJ Online, Feb. 13, 2015).
“The offshore Gabon drilling campaign that we began last year has so far resulted in increased production of approximately 5,000 gross b/d of sweet crude,” said Steve Guidry, Vaalco chief executive officer.
Transocean Ltd.’s Constellation II jack up rig is being mobilized to drill additional development wells from the Southeast Etame-N. Tchibala (SEENT) platform, beginning with the 2-H well in the Southeast Etame field, where the company and its partners drilled a successful exploration well in 2010 (OGJ Online, June 16, 2010).
After drilling the Southeast Etame 2-H well, the rig will drill the North Tchibala 1-H well, the first of Vaalco’s wells offshore Gabon to be drilled targeting the Dentale formation. No hydrogen sulfide is expected from the Southeast Etame-N. Tchibala fields.