By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Jan. 24 -- Chevron Corp. spudded the Obo-1 wildcat on 704 sq km Block 1 about 190 miles north of Sao Tome and 125 miles south of Port Harcourt.
The Transocean Inc. Deepwater Discovery drillship is at the site in 5,750 ft of water in the Gulf of Guinea, said Afren PLC, London (see map, OGJ, Sept. 8, 2003, p. 38). Drilling should take 60 days barring difficulties, Afren said.
Block interests are Chevron 51%, ExxonMobil Corp. 40%, and Dangote Energy Equity Resources Ltd. 9%. Afren holds 49% of the equity in Dangote.
Signature bonus for the block was $123 million. The nearest existing wells to Block 1 are Akpo and Egina less than 20 km north in OPL 246 off Nigeria, Afren said.