Chariot Oil & Gas (LON:CHAR), the Africa focused exploration company, has failed to find commercial hydrocarbons in the first well in a drilling programme offshore Namibia.
Preliminary logging results from the Tapir South (1811/5-1) exploration well in Northern Block 1811A in the Namibe basin, indicate that excellent reservoirs were penetrated. However, no commercial hydrocarbons were found and the well will be plugged and abandoned.
The well was drilled by the Mærsk Deliverer semi-submersible drillship in 2,134 metres of water and operated by Chariot’s wholly owned Namibian subsidiary, Enigma Oil & Gas (Pty) Limited.
The well encountered 173 metres of net reservoir sand of Cretaceous age, including two zones in excess of 30 metres with average porosities of 24% and evidence of good permeabilities. Carbonate intervals were also penetrated with porosities up to 18% over a net interval of 28 metres; these results exceeded Chariot’s pre-drill estimates.
Detailed analyses will now be conducted on the data collected during the drilling of Tapir South. This information will be used to calibrate the existing data set and a resource update of the remaining prospectivity in the block will be provided once this evaluation has been completed.
Paul Welch, the chief executive of Chariot, said: “Whilst the results of the Tapir South well are disappointing, this is the first well of a longer term drilling campaign within a frontier region and only the second well ever to have been drilled in the Namibe basin. Our understanding of this basin is rapidly improving and we expect this well to provide more information on the character and maturity of the potential source rocks when we carry out detailed analyses on the recovered samples. These analyses will provide invaluable information for improving the assessment of source risk on other prospects in close proximity whilst also furthering our knowledge of the region.”
Chariot and its partners are on track to commence the drilling of the Kabeljou (2714/6-1) well in Southern Block 2714A on the Nimrod prospect in the third quarter of this year. This will be the second well in Chariot’s four to five well drilling programme.
