Tullow Well Comes up Dry Onshore Ethiopia

Africa-focused independent explorer Tullow Oil reported Monday that its Tultule-1 wildcat well in the South Omo block, onshore Ethiopia, has come up dry.

The well was targeting a reservoir section similar to the sands drilled in the nearby Sabisa-1 well, where oil shows were encountered. But these sands were not penetrated in Tultule-1, Tullow said.

The firm added that gas shows were recorded in the well, which it said reaffirm the presence of a hydrocarbon source in the region.

Tullow said that the results of both the Sabisa-1 and the Tultule-1 wells will now be analyzed to determine the future exploration campaign for the area. Meanwhile, the OGEC rig will now move to the Chew Bahir basin in Ethiopia to drill the Shimela prospect in the eastern prospect in the eastern portion of the South Omo block, where the acquisition of new seismic data has delineated “a number of exciting new prospects”. The Shimela well is due to spud at the end of the first quarter of 2014.

Tullow is the operator of the Tultule-1 well with a 50-percent interest. Partners Africa Oil and Marathon hold 30 percent and 20 percent respectively.