AAOG hits more pay at Tilapia well off Congo

Independent oil and gas company Anglo African Oil & Gas (AAOG) has encountered hydrocarbons at the second of three horizons targeted by its Tilapia well located offshore the Republic of the Congo. 

AAOG said on Thursday that the TLP-103C well at its Tilapia license intersected the Mengo horizon during the late afternoon of December 24, 2018, and that hydrocarbons were encountered.

The Mengo is the second of three horizons targeted by the well. The top of the Mengo was picked at 1,856 mMD and formed of interbedded sandstones and claystones. This was in line with the company’s geological model. The top of the Marnes de Pointe Noire, underlying the Mengo, was picked at 1,960 mMD and formed of dark claystones.

The company has observed oil and gas shows throughout the entire 50m of sandstone beds encountered. Hydrocarbon pay thickness will be confirmed by wireline logging data and pressure points.

Additionally, three new potential pay zones have been encountered between the reservoir R2 and the Mengo. These zones, formed by sandstones, showed a positive log response and hydrocarbon shows. They will be investigated with MDT logging to test their potential. These new zones were not encountered in the TLP-101V, a previous well already producing at the Tilapia site.

The company will now complete the current well section and then pause drilling in order to undertake a full suite of Schlumberger wireline logging. This will enable the company to fully evaluate the properties of the Mengo, the R1/R2/R3 and the three potential new pay zones.

Following wireline logging, the company will continue drilling towards the deeper Djeno horizon, which is known to be a prolific producer in neighbouring fields.

David Sefton, Executive Chairman of AAOG, said, “TLP-103C has now encountered hydrocarbons in the first two targeted horizons. This success in the Mengo is significant. The Mengo has, depending on the exact characteristics of the reservoir following logging and eventual testing, the potential to provide material increases in production, and cashflow, to the company.

“Once again, the geological model was extremely accurate, with the Mengo being intersected at a variance of less than three meters from the model. Where there has been divergence is that initial results show a thicker Mengo than expected, which translates into a potentially larger pay zone. A genuine surprise, albeit a very welcome one, has been to encounter potential pay zones above the Mengo, in layers where this was thought unlikely due to previous well data. These results indicate a well-developed onshore/offshore hydrocarbon system underlying Tilapia and validate our confidence in this asset.”

He added: We look forward to completing the wireline logging exercise and then drilling towards and into the Djeno.”