FAR Starts Drilling Campaign Offshore Gambia

Australia’s FAR Limited has started drilling the Bambo-1 exploration well in Block A2, offshore The Gambia.

FAR said that the Stena IceMax drillship arrived on site on November 12 and spudded the well after completing preparations.

The Bambo-1 well is located some 50 miles offshore The Gambia, in 3,050 feet of water, and is planned to be drilled to a depth of approximately 11,155 feet. The drilling campaign is expected to take around 30 days.

To remind, FAR signed a contract for the Stena IceMax – a Stena Drilling-owned rig – to drill Bambo-1 back in June. If successful, this could lead to the country’s first oil production.

The well is designed to drill into a series of vertically stacked targets with a combined estimated recoverable, prospective resource of 1.1 billion barrels and FAR calculates the chance of geological success for the various horizons to range from 7 to 36 percent.

FAR stated that the targets during drilling are Bambo (S390 & S400) – two shallower horizons not previously intersected; Soloo (S410 & S440) – the extension of the hydrocarbon-bearing reservoirs in the adjacent Sangomar oil field offshore Senegal; and Soloo Deep (S552 & S562) – which is expected to provide two additional horizons, also not previously penetrated with a lower chance of success but higher potential volumes.

It is worth noting that further exploration and appraisal by FAR is required to determine the existence of a significant quantity of potentially moveable hydrocarbons.

“We are very excited to be drilling offshore The Gambia again and I thank our co-venturer Petronas and the Government of The Gambia for their support during a challenging period of uncertainty and delays.

“We’re looking forward to working safely and efficiently with our trusted partners at Exceed and Stena. The well will be run as a tight well, and we look forward to announcing drilling results at the appropriate time,” FAR’s Managing Director Cath Norman said.

FAR is the operator and has a 50 percent interest in the A2 and A5 blocks. Its joint venture partner PC Gambia, a subsidiary of Petronas, holds the remaining 50 percent.

To contact the author, email bojan.lepic@rigzone.com