Dallas-based Kosmos Energy encountered a “significant play-extending” discovery at its Marsouin-1 exploration well, offshore Mauritania, Africa, marking its second significant natural gas discovery within eight months in the area.
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Map of Block C8. From Kosmos. |
Marsouin-1 is located in the northern part of Block C8, approximately 60km north of the basin-opening Tortue-1 (renamed Ahmeyin), well at about 2400m water depth.
Ahmeyin has been ranked as the second biggest hydrocarbon discovery this year by analysts Wood Mackenzie, with some 1.5 Tcf discovered.
According to preliminary analysis of drilling and wireline logging results, the exploration well encountered at least 70m (230ft) of net gas pay in Upper and Lower Cenomanian intervals comprised of excellent quality reservoir sands, Kosmos said.
The well, which was spudded on 28 August and drilled with the Atwood Achiever ultra deepwater rig, was designed to test a four-way trap with multiple stacked targets, including Lower Cenomanian, Albian, and Aptian formations.
Kosmos is mobilizing the drillship to the Ahmeyim-2 well, located in the southern part of Block C-8, where the top-hole section of the well will be drilled.
Following Ahmeyim-2, the Atwood Achiever is expected to mobilize to Senegal where it will spud Guembeul-1 well, which will be the first in a series of wells to delineate the Greater Tortue area, before year-end.
“Marsouin-1 is our second major discovery of 2015, extending our 100% success rate in the outboard Cretaceous petroleum system offshore Mauritania and Senegal. Well-to-seismic calibration has significantly de-risked the discovered resource base, as well as future prospects in the basin. Importantly, the well results have validated our charge model and given us growing confidence in our ability to predict the oil and gas potential of this emerging, large-scale petroleum system,” Andrew G. Inglis, chairman and chief executive officer said. “We have a disciplined exploration and appraisal program planned to further unlock the basin.”
In October, Kosmos and Atwood Oceanics signed a deal for an extension and reduced rate for the Atwood Achiever to use for the exploration and appraisal program in the Atlantic Margin that is now scheduled to end on 12 November 2018.
In April, Kosmos encountered 107m (351ft) of net pay at Ahmeyin-1 (formerly Tortue-1), in its primary objective, the Cenomanian. The well also intersected an additional 10m (32ft) of gas in the lower Albian section. Kosmos estimates that the Ahmeyin prospect contains 2.1 billion boe.
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