Ophir Drilling towards Total Depth at Starfish Well (Ghana)

Australian oil and gas company Tap Oil Limited today announced that the 17½” (444.5mm) hole section of the Ophir Energy-operated Starfish-1 oil exploration well in the Offshore Accra Contract Area, Ghana, was drilled to final total depth.

The 13 ⅜ ” ( 340 mm) casing was run and set at 3,035 metres and the well drilled ahead in the 12¼” (311mm) hole section to 3,695 metres.

Tap estimates that the well is targeting prospective resources potentially half a billion barrels, (431 mmbbls (P50)).

“The forward plan is to drill ahead in 12¼” (311mm) hole to final total depth,” Tap Oil announced in its press release.

The Starfish prospect is located in the Offshore Accra Contract Area in offshore Ghana along the prolific offshore West African Margin. The prospect was matured following reprocessing of the original 3D seismic data and the acquisition of the new 3D survey in 2011 over the outboard deep water area. The Starfish-1 well is Ophir’s first well in Ghana and is being drilled by the Stena DrillMax drillship.

The well is being drilled as a vertical well in a water depth of 1,500 metres and is expected to drill to a proposed total depth of 4,560 metres. Tap’s cost for the well is expected to be approximately A$11.6 million.

The well was spudded on June 19, and it is expected to take 35 days (since the spud date).

The Contract Area is now covered by quality 3D seismic data. Tap said that “in the event of a discovery at Starfish-1 confirming a significant petroleum system, there are a number of other leads and prospects identified on the block that would be of interest.”

[mappress]
July 3, 2013