Tullow Oil has announced an oil discovery in northern Kenya. The oil exploration company encountered around 75 metres of "net oil pay" (economically recoverable oil) in two zones at its Emekuya-1 well.
According to a statement, the reservoir sands appear to be extensive which de-risks the northern area and bodes well for future exploration in the region.
Tullow Oil began exploration in Kenya in 2010 and has five onshore licences in the region. The agreements with Africa Oil and Centric Energy give Tullow a 50 per cent operating interest – a form of ownership with rights to revenue but responsibility for operating costs – in those five locations. The location of today's discovery is known as Block 13T.
“The Emekuya-1 exploratory appraisal well has made an important discovery in the northern part of the South Lokichar Basin. This well has proven oil charge across a significant part of the Greater Etom structure and we are very encouraged by the quality and particularly the regional extent of the reservoir”, said Angus McCoss, exploration director at Tullow Oil.
This isn’t the first discovery in Block 13T; in January the company announced that another well in the same block had discovered oil with 25 metres of net oil pay. According to Davy, Tullow Oil’s latest guidance for discovered resources in the South Lokichar Basin was 750 million barrels.
