Australian independent FAR has advised that the Bambo-1 well offshore The Gambia has drilled 3,216m measured depth below the rotary table (MDBRT) out of 3,450m. The well has detected oil indications in rock cuttings and logging whilst drilling (LWD) data has interpreted hydrocarbons across several intervals.
“Further wireline logging needs to be completed to confirm the finding,” Far said this morning.
The company has also announced an increase in the drilling campaign’s cost after significant fluid losses were experienced, forcing the temporary halt of drilling operations. FAR is now planning to plug and side-track the well to continue drilling to the planned total depth.
As a result, completing the Bambo-1 well is now expected to cost a total of $61.27m, up from $51.4m. According to FAR, the addition of the side-track programme has also extended the period of operation. Completion is now expected at the very end of 2021.
Bambo-1 was spudded in mid-November and is drilling into a series of vertically staked targets with a combined estimated recoverable prospective resource of over 1 billion barrels. Chances of geological success range from 7% to 36%. It is FAR’s second exploratory well on the A2 Block after it drilled the Samo-1 well in 2018. Its main targeted horizons had then proved water bearing.
FAR’s success case planning at Bambo-1 relies on a development of 150m barrels of oil via a 48,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel. Three wells would then support production, gas and water injection operations.