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FAR Ltd “encouraged” by preliminary findings at Bambo-1 offshore The Gambia

Stena Drillmax Ice was contracted by FAR to drill Bambo-1 to a depth of about 3,400 metres. Pictute: Stena Drilling

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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.

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UTM Offshore signs $2bn MoU with Afreximbank for Nigeria’s first FLNG project

Nigerian marine and services group UTM Offshore and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to raise $2 billion for the development of Nigeria’s first floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) project. The MoU was signed yesterday in Abuja by Julius Rone, Group Managing Director/CEO of UTM Offshore and Dr. Benedict Okey Oramah, President and Chairman of Afreximbank. “This is a landmark project that Afreximbank takes very seriously,” Afreximbank’s president said. The agreement paves the way for additional collaboration between UTM Offshore and the Afreximbank to support a future final investment decision (FID) on UTM’s FLNG project. The company has been studying and conceptualising the development of an FLNG in Nigeria since 2020. In February 2021, it received a License to Establish (LTE) from Nigeria’s former Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) for the installation of an FLNG unit on oil mining lease (OML) 104. The block is operated by the joint-venture of Mobil Producing Nigeria (operator, 40%) and the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC, 60%) and contains the producing Yoho field. Preparations for the project are now in full swing and benefit from robust global and technical expertise. The pre-Front End Engineering Design (Pre-FEED) contract was awarded to JGC Corporation of Japan in May and completed in October. KBR was appointed Owners Engineer while global energy and commodities trader Vitol has also joined the consortium as off-taker for the LNG. “The UTM Offshore FLNG will be the first such project developed by an African company on the continent. It will also significantly contribute to the Nigerian government’s agenda of reducing the flaring of associated gas across our industry. As Africa’s FLNG industry grows, we are well positioned to offer attractive project economics by developing shallow water gas reserves, while bringing significant environmental benefits to our industry as a whole.” Julius Rone, Group Managing Director/CEO, UTM Offshore The project notably involves the development and financing of a 1.2m tonnes per annum FLNG facility with a capacity to process 176 MMscfd of natural gas and condensate. The unit would target the processing of associated gas currently flared in order to cut carbon emissions and monetise additional reserves for the domestic and global markets. UTM Offshore is pioneering the development of the FLNG facility in collaboration with LNG Investment Management Services (LIMS), a subsidiary of the state-owned Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Details on the UTM FLNG can be found in the “Projects” section within your Hawilti+ research terminal.

Tanzania: ORCA Energy submits $50m capex plan for Songo Songo development next year

The ORCA Energy Group has planned a $50m capex for the continued development of the Songo Songo gas project in Tanzania next year. Via its subsidiary PanAfrican Energy, ORCA operates the wells and gas processing plant at the Songo Songo island in central Tanzania. The 2022 programme includes $20 million for a 200 km2 3D seismic program over the Songo Songo development license, $11.5 million to expand the PanAfrican Energy’s existing downstream gas and CNG distribution system, and approximately $7 million for ongoing maintenance and facilities projects. The remaining $11.5 million represents the expenditures associated with the current work over program and inlet compression project, representing a combined $63m investment approved in 2019. The seismic programme would be pretty significant because PanAfrican Energy currently relies on 2D seismic lines ranging from 1978 to 2009. These are insufficient to maximise future upstream gas developments at Songo Songo. “The 3D seismic program is required to de-risk both the future development drilling in the SS gas field and potential exploration drilling of prospective resources prior to the SS license expiring in October 2026.,” ORCA said last week. Source: ORCA Energy Group ORCA continues to see potential for growth and gas production at Songo Songo, even beyond 2026. For now, it is projecting a gas production of at least 100 MMsfd for 2022, including about 40 MMcfd of Protected Gas reserves for the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corp. (TPDC). Details on the Songo Songo Integrated Gas Development are available in the “Projects” section within your Hawilti+ research terminal.