Bowleven to evaluate Etinde structure
Offshore staff
EDINBURGH -- Bowleven is preparing to resume drilling operations on its Etinde permit in Cameroon’s offshore Rio del Rey Basin.
The jack-up Noble Tommy Craighead should spud appraisal well IE-3 on May 7, the first of a multi-well campaign planned this year on Etinder.
Bowleven says the objective of IE-3 will be to further delineate the IE gas/condensate field and to confirm its commerciality. The well has been designed to appraise the extent and communication of the main reservoir Isongo sands updip of previously drilled wells.
IE-3 will also penetrate the shallower Biafra gas accumulation and target deeper Isongo sand reservoirs. If successful, the program should lead to development of the IE field for condensate production via gas re-injection. IE-2Z, the previous appraisal well, tested gas at 31 MMcf/d and condensate at 3,730 b/d.
Bowleven expects IE-3 to reach a target depth of around 2,800 m (9,186 ft) and to take around 60 days to drill, excluding tests. The company later plans a potentially high-impact exploratory well (MLHP-5) to evaluate potential in the Douala Basin, which also extends into the 2,316-sq km (894-sq mi) Etinde permit.
05/04/2010