Tullow, Africa Oil drill fifth northern Kenya oil discovery

Tullow Oil PLC and Africa Oil Corp. have reported a fifth oil discovery in northern Kenya where they plan to run six rigs full time for the foreseeable future.

The Agete-1 exploratory well on Block 13T has discovered and sampled movable oil with an estimated 100 m of net oil pay in good-quality sandstone reservoirs.

Agete-1 is the fifth consecutive oil discovery in the first of a chain of multiple rift basins on Africa Oil’s acreage in the region. Agete-1 derisks several follow-on prospects north of and on trend with the Twiga South, Ekales, and Ngamia oil discoveries and adds to the significant resource base already discovered.

The Sakson PR5 rig drilled Agete-1 to a total depth of 1,930 m. Following completion of logging operations the well will be suspended for future flow testing to will confirm the net pay count.

The rig will then move to drill the Ewoi-1 wildcat in the east of the basin, targeting a rift flank prospect similar to the recent Etuko oil discovery. Tullow Oil and Africa Oil each holds 50% interest in the discovery.

Elsewhere in Kenya, the companies plan to spud the Amosing-1 well on Block 10BB by the end of November with the Weatherford 804 rig. The Etuko-1 well test on the same block is scheduled to start this month with the PR Marriott 46 rig that recently arrived in country, and the Ekales-1 well test is scheduled to begin in early December with the recently mobilized SMP-5 completion unit.

The Africa Oil-operated Bahasi-1 well on Block 9 is drilling as planned with results expected by the end of December.

Two more wells are drilling in Ethiopia, Tutule-1 on the South Omo block and El Kuran-3 on Block 8, and results are expected before yearend.

Keith Hill, president and chief executive officer of Africa Oil, said, “We would expect to see a high rate of success on all exploration wells in this basin based on results to date.”