Norway’s Statoil and partner ExxonMobil have made a large gas discovery in the Zafarani exploration well offshore Tanzania.
Logging results have shown what Statoil is calling a “high impact discovery”, so far proving up to five trillion cubic feet of gas in-place.
The well has encountered 120 metres of excellent quality reservoir with high porosity and high permeability, Statoil said. The gas-water contact has not been established and drilling operations are ongoing.
The Zafarani discovery is the fifth high impact discovery made by Statoil in the last 12 months, with the other discoveries being Skrugard and Havis in the Barents Sea, Johan Sverdrup (former Aldous/Avaldsnes) in the North Sea and Peregrino South in Brazil.
Statoil operates the licence on Block 2 on behalf of Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) and has a 65 per cent working interest, with ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Tanzania holding the remaining 35 per cent. Statoil has been in Tanzania since 2007 when it was awarded the licence for Block 2. TPDC has the right to a 10 per cent working interest in case of a development phase.
Zafarani is the first exploration well that has been drilled in the licence, which covers an area of approximately 5,500 square kilometres. The water depth at the well location is 2,582 metres and the well itself will be drilled to reach an expected total depth of around 5,100 metres.
Commenting, Tim Dodson, Statoil’s executive vice president for Exploration, said: “This discovery is the first Statoil operated discovery in East Africa and an important event for the future development of the Tanzanian gas industry. It is also a demonstration of how Statoil’s exploration strategy of early access and high impact opportunities strongly supports the company’s ambition for international growth.”
Yona Killaghane, managing director of TPDC, said: “This discovery could potentially be a catalyst for large scale natural gas developments in Tanzania.”
After completing the drilling activities at Zafarani, the drillship, Ocean Rig Poseidon, will move to drill a second well in Block 2 on the Lavani prospect.
