SOCO spuds Viodo appraisal off Congo

Offshore staff

LONDON -- SOCO has spudded the Viodo 4 appraisal well in Marine XI block offshore the Republic of Congo. The well is an appraisal of the 1986 Viodo oil discovery and is targeting an extension of the core area of the field, the company says.

The Viodo discovery lies in 65 m (213 ft) of water and contains oil in the Toca formation, a lacustrine carbonate developed below the regional salt horizon. Three of the four existing wells, drilled in the period 1986 to 1990, successfully tested oil, but also showed the accumulation to be geologically complex, SOCO reports. The company will carry out a comprehensive data collection and well testing program.


09/21/2009