BW Energy Makes Oil Discovery in Gabon Asset

BW Energy has made an oil discovery at the Dussafu license in the Southern Gabon Basin.

The company said in a news release that the “substantial oil discovery with good reservoir quality” was in the DHIBM-7P pilot well drilled to appraise the northern flank of the Hibiscus field.

The DHIBM-7P pilot was drilled from the MaBoMo production platform to a total depth of 12929.8 feet (3,941 meters). The target area is located approximately 0.9 miles (1.5 kilometers) north-northwest of MaBoMo and was drilled by the Borr Norve jack-up rig.

The evaluation of logging data, sample examination, and formation pressure measurements confirmed approximately 78.7 feet (24 meters) of pay in an overall hydrocarbon column of 121.4 feet (37 meters). Notably, the hydrocarbon column extends across the boundary between the Gamba and the underlying Dentale formation. This is the first example of a common Gamba-Dentale hydrocarbon accumulation in Hibiscus Field, the company noted.

BW Energy said it plans to complete the well as a production well later in the year.

“This is yet another confirmation of the significant potential of the Dussafu licence, which BW Energy is rapidly unlocking through low-cost and low-risk development activity,” BW Energy CEO Carl Arnet said.

Preliminary evaluation indicates a notable increase in both the volume of oil in place and gross recoverable reserves, according to the release. BW Energy said that technical personnel will be engaged in updating the analysis for publication of the uplift at a future date.

Earlier in the month, BW Energy announced that its DHBSM-2P pilot well confirms that the Hibiscus South deposit extends into the northern part of the field with good reservoir quality, increasing reserve estimates. The company also plans to complete the well as a production well later in the year.

The well data provides additional confirmation that the Hibiscus South structure is a separate accumulation with a deeper oil-water contact than the nearby Hibiscus Field. This will enable the company to book additional reserves not currently included in its annual statement of reserves and provide the opportunity to drill one or more additional production wells from the MaBoMo facility, it noted.

“We continue to increase the production and reserve base through low-cost and low-risk development activity in line with BW Energy’s strategy,” Arnet said in an earlier statement. “The Hibiscus South pilot well is another confirmation of the significant potential of the Dussafu licence which holds multiple additional prospects.”

Preliminary evaluation indicates gross recoverable reserves of 5 to 6 million barrels of oil and approximately 14 million barrels of oil in place, the company noted.

The company’s next operation is to place a production well, DHBSM-2H, in the northern flank of the Hibiscus South field that was recently successfully appraised.

Meanwhile, its parent company BW Group Limited is spinning off BW Energy. The move will not involve “any change to the ultimate control of the business,” as the BW Energy shares currently held by BW Group, which are controlled by its Chairman Andreas Sohmen-Pao through a trust, will be sold to BW Energy Holdings Limited, which is also owned and controlled by Sohmen-Pao, according to an earlier news release.

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