Chariot Oil & Gas (LON:CHAR), the Africa focused exploration company, has kicked off a 3D seismic acquisition programme in its Central Blocks, offshore Namibia.
The 90-day programme is being carried out in conjunction with Chariot’s farm-in partner Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS) and will cover 3,500 sq km using the latest Geostreamer technology.
In August this year Chariot agreed a deal in which PGS acquired a 10% interest in Central Blocks (Licence 19, covering Blocks 2312 A & B and Northern halves of 2412 A & B). In return, PGS agreed to fund 50% of a 2,500 sq km seismic programme – which has now been extended to 3,500 sq km.
Following reprocessing and reinterpretation of the existing 2D seismic data, Chariot and PGS have agreed to focus the 3D seismic acquisition programme in the north-eastern area of the blocks.
The attraction of this part of the acreage is the recognition of multiple target levels and numerous leads including analogues to the “Nimrod” feature in Chariot’s southern acreage with potentially two active oil prone source intervals. Overall these elements increase the likelihood of maturing multiple drilling targets within the 3D acquisition area.
An additional benefit of extending the size of the survey is that the new 3D seismic area covers water depths ranging from 750-1,750m (significantly shallower than the depths in the originally proposed acquisition area) which will potentially result in a considerable reduction in expected well costs.
In keeping with Chariot’s aggressive exploration programme, this 3D seismic survey will significantly exceed the minimum work and expenditure requirements of the terms of the First Renewal Phase as announced on 28 June 2011. It will also enable Chariot to further expand its prospect and lead inventory and mitigate risk as it looks to mature further targets for drilling.
Paul Welch, the chief executive of Chariot, said: “As described in our recent technical update on 31 October 2011, this 3D acquisition programme is crucial to the understanding and development of our Central Blocks. We have identified new areas of interest that we believe will contain a significant number of drillable prospects and we look forward to receiving the data and interpreting this further.”
