Shell and its joint venture partners, Pavilion Energy and Ophir Energy, have started its Tanzanian drilling program.
The program, covering two wells in Block 1 and 4, in the Mafia Deep basin off Tanzania, will target >1 Tcf of gas, according to Ophir.
The well on Block 1 will target Kitatange, with an estimated mean recoverable volume of 1.1 Tcf. The well on Block 4 will target Bunju with an estimated 1.4 Tcf. The wells, which have been given 40% chance of success, will fulfill outstanding exploration requirements on the licenses.
Shell is using the Noble Globe Trotter 2 drillship for the drilling program, in up to 2300m water depth, at an expected cost of about US$80 million.
Shell became the operator of the two blocks in February 2016, after its combination with BG Group.
The development of Blocks 1 and 4 is part of the Tanzania LNG project, which would see existing discoveries in Shell's blocks, and others, tied into an onshore LNG development. Shell and its Block 1 and 4 partners are working with Tanzanian authorities and other Block 2 partners on future development of Tanzania LNG.
"In the current investment climate, there is a critical need to have strong project fundamentals, including government support and cooperation," says Shell.
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