By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Sept. 15 -- Heritage Oil Corp., Calgary, has signed a production-sharing agreement (PSA) with Congo (former Zaire) for a 39.6% working interest in the 6,000 sq km Blocks I and II in the Albert Graben basin onshore and off Congo.
The PSA includes the portion of Lake Albert that lies in Congo adjacent to the company's Block 3A and Hardman Resources Ltd.'s Block 2 licenses in Uganda.
Heritage Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Micael Gulbenkian said the recent success at Hardman's Block 2 license, where that company has production tested its Waraga-1 well at a cumulative maximum flow rate of over 12,000 b/d, proves that there is a potentially very significant new hydrocarbon system in the basin.
"We believe there should be a continuation of the oil play through the basin across the international boundary between Uganda and Congo," Gulbenkian said. "Our strategy is to prove-up a substantial new hydrocarbon province in the Albert Graben with licenses in Congo and Uganda."
Work is expected to begin on Blocks I and II by yearend, following a presidential decree ratifying technical studies preparatory to the acquisition of 400 km of 2D seismic data on Lake Albert in 2007. The seismic campaign will target potential extensions to geological plays already identified in the region.
Heritage's exploration work program on the Ugandan side of the basin is already under way. The company on Aug. 15 spudded the vertical Kingfisher-1 well on Block 3-A from the shore of Lake Albert. It set 10 ¾-in. intermediate casing to 1,060 m and was preparing to drill out with a 9 7/8-in. hole. The exploration well is targeting multiple objectives in a large structural high and is expected to reach 3,000-4,000 m TD in the next 2 months (OGJ Online, July 21, 2006).
Other stake holders in the PSA are Tullow PLC, which is also Heritage's partner in Uganda and operator of the license with a 48.4% interest, and state-run La Congolaise des Hydrocarbures (Cohydro), with the remaining 12% interest.
