Drilling on the first exploration well in Tanzania's Block 7 has started, using the Deepsea Metro I drillship, said operator of Ophir Energy plc.
The Mlinzi Mbali-1 well, in which fear has an 80% interest, is in 2600m water depth, 210km west of Dar es Salaam.
The well is targeting a structural crest within a lower Cretaceous channel complex, with secondary targets in the upper Cretaceous and the Jurassic.
Image: The Deepsea Metro I
Pre-drill estimates show that the two primary channel reservoirs in the lower Cretaceous have the potential to contain Pmean prospective resources of about 10 TCF.
"Success would significantly derisk the total resource potential within the overall Mlinzi channel complex, which is estimated at >20 TCF, as well as in other structures within the block," said Ophir.
Operations are expected to take about 50 days.