Ghana discovery list grows with Vanco-Lukoil find

March 15, 2010
Another name is added to the list of major oil and gas discoveries off Ghana as Vanco Ghana Ltd. and Lukoil Overseas Ghana Ltd. reported a gas-condensate and oil discovery at the Dzata-1 exploratory well.

Another name is added to the list of major oil and gas discoveries off Ghana as Vanco Ghana Ltd. and Lukoil Overseas Ghana Ltd. reported a gas-condensate and oil discovery at the Dzata-1 exploratory well.

The Dzata discovery in a Cenomanian-Albian faulted anticlinal trap opens a new prospective trend in the eastern part of the Tano basin, the companies said.

Dzata-1 went to a total depth of 4,433 m in 1,878 m of water 45 miles south of Cape Three Points on the Cape Three Points deepwater block. The discovery is discerned from the results of drilling, wireline logs, and reservoir fluid samples.

The well encountered 94 m of gross hydrocarbon column topped at 3,653 m with 25 m of net stacked oil and gas pay. The primary reservoir sandstone at 3,663-90 m contains gas and light oil. Volatile black oil was recovered from a zone at 3,701-09 m.

The well is plugged and temporarily abandoned pending further evaluation.

Dzata continues the series of recent exploration successes that includes discoveries at Jubilee, Tweneboa, Odum, and Sankofa off western Ghana. Dzata is the deepest-water exploration well drilled in the Ghanaian Tano basin.

Vanco and Lukoil, after having shot the 1,500 sq km of 3D seismic used to define the Dzata prospect in 2005, are shooting a new 1,664 sq km 3D program to identify prospective features in the northern and western parts of the block.

The Dzata-1 well was drilled with the Sedco 702—a dynamically positioned fifth-generation deepwater semisubmersible. This is the first exploration well to be drilled in the Cape Three Points Deep Water Petroleum Agreement Area, covering 5,164 sq km (1.27 million acres) in 200 m to 3,000 m of water.

Vanco is block operator with 28.34% participating interest. Lukoil has 56.66% interest, and Ghana National Petroleum Corp. has a 15% carried interest and the option to acquire up to a further 5% in any commercial discovery.

The nearest discovery to Dzata is Vitol Upstream Ghana Ltd.'s Sankofa, a late 2009 find about 50 miles to the west-northwest in the Cape Three Points Block. Sankofa-1A encountered a 33.1-m gas column and a 3.2-m oil column (OGJ Online, Oct. 5, 2009).

Jubilee field, which is said to hold 300 million bbl of oil, is West Africa's largest offshore deepwater discovery in the past decade or more.

Vitol has a 90% stake in the 2,080 sq-km Cape Three Points Block, while GNPC holds the remaining 10% and has an option to double its stake if there is a commercial discovery. Vitol also operates the Cape Three Points South Block.

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