Tanzania
Exploration
Orca has mapped and evaluated the Songo Songo West (SSW) prospect adjacent to the Songo Songo Field and is in the early stages of planning to drill and test the prospect in Q3 2011.
The prospect lies approximately 2.5 kilometres west of the main field and is mapped on seismic as having closure on an elongate north-south oriented tilted fault block trap. As with the Songo Songo main field, two reservoirs are envisaged to be present within the SSW prospect – the Neocomian and the Cenomanian, although the primary exploration potential lies within the Neocomian interval. SSW lies entirely within the Company’s Discovery Blocks.
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McDaniel & Associates conducted an independent assessment of natural gas resources in the SSW prospect in September 2008. The prospect is interpreted by McDaniel to be low risk with a 52% chance of success in the Neocomian and 35% in the Cenomanian. McDaniel assessed the P50, unrisked recoverable resources in SSW at 450 Bcf and the mean, unrisked recoverable resources at 551 Bcf. Management’s unrisked mean GIIP for the Songo Songo West prospect of 810 Bcf compares with the McDaniel combined Neocomian and Cenomanian unrisked mean GIIP of 740 Bcf.
Songo Songo West represents a major potential source of reserves upside in the Songo Songo area. Orca Exploration is planning to drill an initial exploration well towards the south of the SSW structure. If it is successful and can flow at commercial rates, it is likely to be tied back to the manifold in front of the existing processing plant and flowed for a period to prove up the long term deliverability of gas. Following this confirmation, it is likely that an appraisal well will be drilled into the northern extent of the mapped structure to get a better understanding of the aerial extent of the reservoir and the recoverable reserves. The final field development decision would then be taken, but is likely to involve a significant expansion of the existing facilities.
Songo Songo West is located in water depths of approximately 18 – 35m and will require a jack-up drilling rig to explore the prospect. Rig availability is a key focus in well planning, and Orca is actively engaged with other operators in East Africa who have a requirement for a jack-up rig to drill in shallow water along a similar timeframe.