Tullow extends Ghana fan oil play to Ivory Coast
Tullow Oil PLC has reported a light oil discovery in a fan system offshore Ivory Coast that extends the proven oil play westward from discoveries offshore Ghana.
The Paon-1X wildcat went to 5,090 m in 2,193 m of water as the first deepwater exploratory well on the CI-103 license off Abidjan, eastern Ivory Coast. It encountered 31 m of net oil pay in a 74-m gross interval of turbidite sands of Turonian age.
Pressure data indicate that the interval contains a continuous hydrocarbon column and samples show that it is a light oil of 41° gravity. Further analysis is required to determine reservoir quality and the extent of the fan system, Tullow said. After logging, Tullow will suspend the well for possible future use.
Tullow, operator with 45% interest, said it looks forward to further drilling on the block in 2013. Anadarko Petroleum Corp. has 40% interest in the license, and Ivory Coast’s state Soc. Nationale d’Operations Petrolieres de Cote D’Ivoire (Petroci) has 15%.
Alan Petzet | Chief Editor Exploration
Alan Petzet is Chief Editor-Exploration of Oil & Gas Journal in Houston. He is editor of the Weekly E&D Newsletter, emailed to OGJ subscribers, and a regular contributor to the OGJ Online subscriber website.
Petzet joined OGJ in 1981 after 13 years in the Tulsa World business-oil department. He was named OGJ Exploration Editor in 1990. A native of Tulsa, he has a BA in journalism from the University of Tulsa.
