Yemisi Izuora
Panoro Energy ASA the independent exploration and production ( E&P) company with assets in Nigeria and Gabon has said it is optimistic that the Aje-5 production well on the OML 113 license, offshore Nigeria will soon spud first oil following key drilling progress by Joint Venture Partners (JV) of the field.
Providing update on efforts by partners to progress on oil production, Panoro said, that the Aje-5 well has now reached targeted depth of 3,255 metres measured depth, having been drilled with the Saipem Scarabeo 3 semi-submersible drilling rig in 300 metres water depth and the well was drilled as a deviated well targeting close to the Aje-2 well subsurface location.
The company further said that the Aje-2 was drilled in 1997 and encountered and tested a high quality oil-bearing Cenomanian reservoir adding that drilling operations at Aje-5 have been completed ahead of schedule with no safety related incidents reported and the well is now being completed as a subsea oil production well.
‘The Aje Joint Venture partners are continuing to evaluate opportunities to commercialise this significant hydrocarbon resource in the future. After these operations the rig will be moved to re-enter the existing Aje-4 well to complete it as a second Cenomanian production well. A further operational update will be provided at that time’ the company said in a statement.
John Hamilton, Panoro Energy CEO commented, “We are pleased to see the excellent operational results to date in the drilling of the Aje-5 well and to report that the well has been efficiently drilled ahead of schedule by the operating team. The drilling of the 2 production wells are a significant part of the overall Aje development capex and we are very encouraged by the project execution so far. We look forward to reaching first oil in the coming months and establishing a renewed platform for 2016 and beyond.”
Aje is an offshore field located in the western part of Nigeria in the Dahomey Basin close to the border with Benin. The field is situated in water depths ranging from 100 to 1,000 metres about 24 km from the coast.
Panoro Energy holds a 6.502 percent participating interest in OML 113 (with a 12.1913% revenue interest and 16.255% paying interest in the Aje Field). The Aje Field contains hydrocarbon resources in sandstone reservoirs in three main levels – a Turonian gas condensate reservoir, a Cenomanian oil reservoir and an Albian gas condensate reservoir.