Kenya: Exploratory well spudded in onshore Block 10A

Oct. 1, 2012
Tullow Oil PLC has spudded the Paipai-1 exploratory well on Block 10A in northwestern Kenya.

Tullow Oil PLC has spudded the Paipai-1 exploratory well on Block 10A in northwestern Kenya.

Proposed depth is 4,112 m to test Cretaceous and Jurassic sandstones in the Anza graben, whose geological history is comparable to and on trend with Sudan’s oil producing basins, said Africa Oil Corp., Vancouver, BC, which has a 30% working interest in the block.

Africa Oil said the well targets a large structural trap in an oil-prone area of the basin. Earlier wells had oil and gas shows, and newly shot seismic surveys have helped improve mapping and identified Paipai as a potentially high-impact feature.

Tullow and Africa Oil are drilling Twiga South-1 in the Lokichar subbasin onshore Block 13T in Kenya. Results are expected by the end of October. Tullow is finalizing plans to mobilize a rig to Ethiopia for an exploratory drilling campaign starting with the Sabisa-1 well on the South Omo block in late 2012.