Second Tanzanian well hits gas

Offshore staff

READING, UK – A second exploration well in Tanzania has discovered gas, says BG Group. The Chewa-1 is in block 4 about 80 km (50 mi) offshore southern Tanzania in 1,300 m (4,265 ft) of water. It is 8 km (5 mi) northwest of the Pweza-1 gas discovery.

Chewa-1, operated by Ophir Energy (40%), is the second of a three-well initial program for blocks 1, 3 and 4. The initial work also includes the acquisition of 4 000 sq km (1,544 sq mi) of 3D seismic data. BG Group (60%) has the option to assume operatorship of all three blocks upon completion of the initial program.

"This is an encouraging start to our campaign in Tanzania,” said Frank Chapman, BG Group CEO. “We have a large acreage position to explore and an extensive exploration program will be needed to assess the full potential of this new play.”

12/01/2010