A group led by Ophir Ghana (Accra) Ltd. has spudded the Starfish-1 wildcat on the Offshore Accra contract area in deep water offshore eastern Ghana.
The vertical well is projected to 4,560 m in 1,500 m of water to test a stratigraphic trap interpreted to be potentially comparable to giant Jubilee oil field 350 km to the west. Drilling time is estimated at 35 days if all goes well.
The block covers 2,000 sq km in 50 m to more than 2,500 m of water southeast of Accra.
Participating interests after giving effect to Ghana National Petroleum Co.’s 10% carried interest are Ophir Ghana and Afex Oil (Ghana) Ltd. 18% each, Vitol Upstream (Accra) Ltd. 27%, Tap Oil (Ghana) Ltd. 15.75%, and Rialto Energy (Ghana) Ltd. 11.25%. GNPC has the option to increase its interest if a commercial discovery is made.