VAALCO Energy Inc. has said construction work on two production platforms for the additional development of the Etame Marin block offshore Gabon is continuing on schedule.
One platform is due to be installed in the Etame field, and the second platform to be installed between the Southeast Etame and North Tchibala fields, in the second half of 2014, bringing the total number of platforms in the Etame Marin block to four.
VAALCO had previously said installation would be in the first half of 2014. Read more: "Ovoka duster - Etame Marin work continues"
In March 2014, a six-day shutdown of the Etame Marin block has been scheduled to upgrade the safety systems and perform general maintenance and repairs on VAALCO's leased floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel. Other maintenance will be performed in the field to take advantage of the FPSO outage.
Lftings from the FPSO in the Etame Marin block offshore Gabon totalled about 2.2MM bbl in Q4 2013, compared to about 2MM bbl in Q4 2012. Liftings in Q3 2013 were about 1.4MM bbl on a gross basis.
VAALCO is currentlydrilling a well on the Dimba prospect in 175ft water, seven miles northest of the Etame field, offshore Gabon, using KCA Deutag's Ben Rinnes drilling rig.
The well is intended to evaluate both the Gamba and deeper syn-rift formations. In addition, the rig will be used to redrill the S. Tchibala 1-H well, which experienced a casing failure in early 2013, and to perform a workover of the Avouma 2-H well, to replace a failed submersible pump assembly.
Offshore Angola,VAALCO has entered into an agreement to license and reprocess 3D Seismic data covering the deeper water segment of Block 5.
Under the terms of the agreement, about 1060sq km of 3D data will be licensed, merged with a previously acquired 1175sq km 3D survey, and reprocessed through Pre Stack Depth Migration, a seismic imaging technology used to better define geologic structures.
The reprocessed data will enable the company to better define the Ombundi and other high potential pre-salt leads in the deeper water portion of Block 5.