Two firms in joint venture to drill for oil near Lodwar

Africa Oil and Tullow have started drilling two wells in northern Kenya, hoping to confirm existence of oil in block10BB near Lodwar by the end of 2012.

The two firms said they started drilling on the Ngamia-1 exploration block after which they will move to Block 10A.

Martin Mbogo, the country manager for Tullow Oil, said drilling in Blocks 10BB – started on Tuesday.

Tullow Oil and Africa Oil hold equal stakes in both blocks.

“We were faced by slow processes. We are drilling following confirmed prospects from analysed data,” Mr Mbogo said in an interview.

The Ngamia-1 well will be drilled to a projected depth of 2,700 metres to test the oil potential. Drilling and evaluation of the well is expected to take up to three months.

A number of prospects and leads have been mapped and will be pursued if Ngamia-1 proves a success.

Ngamia-1 marks the start of a multi-well drilling program in Block 10BB and adjacent blocks.

The well is located in the Lokichar basin, where live oil was encountered through Loperot-1 which was drilled in 1992 and 29 degree API crude recovered from Miocene sandstones.

The Ngamia-1 well will replicate prospects drilled by Tullow and its partners early in the exploration efforts in the Lake Albert Rift Basin of Uganda where 1 billion barrels have been discovered. 

“Lake Albert Basin shares many geological similarities with our Kenyan assets. The Ngamia prospect could be a play opener for another great success in the region,” said Keith Hill, President and CEO of Africa Oil.

Tullow Kenya BV is the operator of five exploration blocks in northern Kenya following deals last year in which it signed agreements with Africa Oil and Centric Energy to gain a 50 per cent interest in five Kenyan licences; Blocks 10BA, 10BB, 10A, 12A and 13T.

The East African Rift Basin system is one of the last of the great rift basins to be explored. New discoveries have been announced on all sides of Africa Oil’s virtually unexplored land position, including the major Albert Graben oil discovery in neighbouring Uganda.
Like the Albert Graben, Africa Oil’s concessions have older wells, a legacy database, and host numerous oil seeps indicating a proven petroleum system.