Gas discovery offshore Côte d’Ivoire

RAK Petroleum plc, the Oslo-listed oil and gas investment company, announced today that the Marlin North-1 well drilled by Foxtrot International LDC offshore Côte d’Ivoire flowed gas and oil from the Turonian and Lower Senonian intervals, neither of which had previously tested hydrocarbons on Block CI-27.

A 22-meter perforated section of the gas bearing column in the Turonian flowed at a stabilized rate of 25 million cubic feet per day of gas and 150 barrels per day of condensates through a 46/64 inch choke. In the Lower Senonian, an 11-meter perforated section of the oil bearing column flowed at a stabilized rate of 1,525
barrels per day of 27° API oil and 0.6 million cubic feet per day of associated gas through a 28/64 inch choke.

The well, drilled in 65 meters of water, reached a vertical depth of 2,790 meters. A declaration of hydrocarbons discovery has been submitted to the Ministry
of Petroleum and Energy and an evaluation and appraisal program will follow.

Through Mondoil Enterprises LLC, RAK Petroleum has a one-third ownership of Foxtrot International which in turn operates Block CI-27 with a 27.5 percent stake. Other partners on the block are the state oil company, Petroci, and SECI.

Elsewhere on the block, development of the previously discovered Marlin oil and gas field and the nearby Manta gas field is on track as part of a four-year, USD 1
billion expansion program involving installation of a second production platform on the block and drilling of development wells commencing in July. The first platform on the block has been in operation since 1999 and processes gas and liquids from the Foxtrot and Mahi fields.

During 2014, gas production from Block CI-27 averaged 142.6 million cubic feet per day or some 70 percent of the country’s total. Gas is sold into the domestic market for power generation and other industrial and commercial uses under fixed price terms that last year averaged $5.87 per million btu. Average daily production and prices have increased marginally in 2015.

Source: RAK Petroleum