Vaalco Energy Inc., Houston, has started a drilling program in Etame oil field offshore Gabon that will include appraisal of a reservoir below existing production.
It has spudded the Etame 9P appraisal well to test the Lower Cretaceous Dentale formation, which underlies the producing Gamba sandstone of the same age.
Vaalco says the Dentale formation, penetrated by earlier wells, presents “a number of targets in a sand-shale sequence with favorable reservoir properties.”
It estimates the formation holds as much as 4.6 million bbl of recoverable oil.
After drilling the Etame 9P, the Vantage Drilling International Topaz jack up will drill the Etame 9H horizontal development well targeting the Gamba formation.
The 2019-20 drilling program includes a total of two appraisal wells and as many as three development wells.
Vaalco and partners produced an average of 13,550 b/d of oil during the second quarter in the Etame Marine license area. Production is from two wells in the Etame platform, three wells each in the SEENT and Avouma platforms, one well in the Ebouri platform, and three subsea wells flowing into a floating production, storage, and offloading vessel.
Vaalco operates the license with a 31.1% working interest and 27.1% net royalty interest. Other joint owners are Sinopec (Addax), Sasol, and PetroEnergy.
