SOCO International has announced that oil and gas exploration programmes have commenced offshore DR Congo and onshore Angola
With respect to DR Congo, the independent oil and gas firm said that the offshore Lideka East Marine-1 well (LDKEM-1) targeted a post-salt structure, up-dip from the Lideka Marine-1 well which found shows of oil in the Sendji Formation (iS3).
The well had encountered approximately 50 metres of net pay section in the Upper and Lower Sendji, of which approximately 30 metres of net pay were within the targeted iS3 and S4 horizons.
The LDKEM-1 well was tested over a 20-metre interval in the iS3 and S4 horizons. The well flowed 30-35º API oil at a sustained rate of 350 bpd, with base, sediment and water around one per cent, in line with predictions from the petrophysical analysis.
The produced gas volumes were very low, however, SOCO International said.
The well was also drilled on the crest of the structure to identify the length of the oil column. The Sendji, known to be a heterogeneous reservoir, and detailed rock physics and inversion models may be used to determine where the best porosity zones are situated.
Further work will be conducted to establish viable opportunities on this field, the company added.
In Angola, the first well of the two-well exploration programme, commenced in August this year, was currently being drilled at approximately 1,200 metres, the company said.
The Dinge 20-6 well was planned to test the Vovo Sands in the pre-salt section onshore Cabinda North in the area of the Dinge discovery. The target sands were deposited in a lacustrine environment above the middle Bucomazi, which is a world class source rock. The second well, Dinge 20-7, will be drilled immediately following completion of Dinge 20-6, SOCO International sources added.
Ed Story, CEO of SOCO International, said, “The results from the Lideka Marine East well, while not as good as we had hoped, are in line with that seen in regional analogues like the Yombo and Sendji Fields. The sharply contrasting reservoir characteristics within these fields are indicative of changes that could be present at our Lideka Discovery. Additional interpretive work will help to establish the location of potential higher productive areas in Lideka and assist in our evaluation towards commerciality.”