HOUSTON, Mar. 30�Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., Calgary, said its wholly owned subsidiary, Ranger Oil Cote d'Ivoire SARL, found oil off Ivory Coast on block CI-40.
The Baobab 1X well, drilled to 3,074 m TD in 1,484 m of water, found oil in the Albian.
Two drill stem tests were performed on selected intervals. The combined stabilized flow rate exceeded 6,700 b/d of 22-23�-gravity crude with a gas-oil ratio of 290-320 scf/bbl. The well will be suspended while appraisal plans are formulated.
The government awarded the block under a production-sharing contract in April 1998. Ranger is operator with 61%, Svenska Petroleum Exploration Production AB has 29%, and Petroci Holding has 10%.
The Baobab discovery is 8 km south of Espoir field on Block CI-26, another of the four blocks Ranger operates off Ivory Coast. Espoir is being developed and production is due to begin in 2002.
