Exploration well offshore Cameroon encounters payzones

Bowleven, the West Africa focused oil and gas exploration group, announced that the Sapele-1 exploration well in the Douala Basin offshore Cameroon has encountered further hydrocarbon-bearing pay in both Tertiary and Cretaceous zones. This is believed to have occurred at the extremities of Lower and Deep Omicron and the Cretaceous Epsilon Complex. The well was designed to intersect multiple stacked objectives of Tertiary to Cretaceous age. Wireline log evaluation indicates all of the five objectives are hydrocarbon-bearing, with net pay confirmed in three. The well has reached a current TD of 4,539 m (14,892 ft), and the intention is to set liner and continue drilling operations.
The Sapele-1, on block MLHP-5 in the Etinde Permit, was selected to intersect multiple independent exploration targets from the proven Miocene fairway down to the deeper Cretaceous fairway from a single location. This required that a number of the targets be intersected at sub-optimal locations. Consequently, while the well has confirmed the prognosed targets as hydrocarbon-bearing,.
Since the announcement on 25 November 2010, the well, which is drilling in shallow water depths of around 20 m, has been drilled to a current TD of 4,539 m and has drilled through the Cross-cut event and into the Cretaceous.