Oil major BP’s Orca-1 exploration well, which is co-owned by SMHPM and Kosmos, located in the BirAllah area in Block C8 offshore Mauritania, made a gas discovery, with the results achieving a 100% success from nine wells targeting the inboard gas trend in Mauritania/Senegal, Kosmos stated.
Kosmos added that the well exceeded its pre-drill expectations, encountering 36 meters of net gas pay in excellent quality reservoirs.
Moreover, the well’s location resulted to structural and stratigraphic trap of the Orca prospect, with Kosmos estimating that it has a mean gas initially in place (GIIP) of 13 TCF.
In addition, the well extended the Cenomanian play fairway by confirming 11 meters of net gas pay in a down-structure position relative to the original Marsouin-1 discovery well, which was drilled on the crest of the anticline
… Kosmos stated in its press release.
The company added that both Orca-1 and Marsouin-1 have de-risked up to 50 TCF of GIIP from the Cenomanian and Albian plays in the BirAllah area, more than sufficient resource to support a world-scale LNG project. Meanwhile, a deeper, untested Aptian play has also been identified within the area and surrounding structures.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Andrew G. Inglis commented
The Orca-1 well concludes a very strong year for exploration and appraisal in Mauritania and Senegal. Orca-1, which we believe is the largest deepwater hydrocarbon discovery in the world so far this year, further demonstrates the world-scale quality of the Mauritania gas basin.
In light of the positive results, Kosmos is extending the timeline of its Mauritania/Senegal sell-down process into 2020, giving potential bidders additional time to analyze the new data.