Springfield Exploration and Production (SEP) Limited, an independent Ghanaian energy company says an appraisal has increased its discovery to 1.5 billion barrels of proven reserves of two streams of light crude oil from the initial 1.2 billion.
700 billion mmscf of gas
In addition, the company has also discovered 700 billion Standard Cubic Feet of gas (mmscf) in the same Afina-1 well. This is close to one trillion cubic feet of gas.
Potential upside of over 3 billion barrels of oil
Additional potential upside of over three billion barrels of oil and a lot more gas also exists.
One well, 2 discoveries
Springfield said it had drilled one well and hit both oil and gas in the West Cape Three Points (WCTP) Block 2, offshore Ghana.
Discovery done in 4,085 metres total depth
Afina-1 which is located at a water depth of 1,030 metres was drilled to a total depth of 4,085 metres.
Although that is deep, it is within modern drilling capabilities.
Light crude oil with a gross thickness of 65 metres
The company encountered light oil with a gross thickness of 65 metres, with 50 metres light net oil pay in good quality Cenomanian sandstones.
The secondary target in Turonian age sands was drilled at the edge of the structure and encountered 10 metres of hydrocarbon bearing sands consisting of light oil and gas.
30-35% recoverable
It is estimated that between 30 and 35 per cent of the discovery will be recoverable.
First independent homegrown African Energy Company
Officially, Springfield has made history as the first independent homegrown African Energy Company to drill in deepwater and find significant hydrocarbons.
In press release issued yesterday, Springfield stated that “The current undiscovered potential of the Block is estimated at over three billion barrels of oil and gas in multiple leads and prospects within various proven reservoir units.”
Springfield 84%, GNPC 16%
Springfield is currently the operator and majority interest holder (84%) of WCTP Block 2, with Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and GNPC EXPLORCO, holding the remaining 16% interest.
Chief Executive Officer of Springfield, Kevin Okyere said “This is great news for Springfield, Ghana and Africa. We are excited about the discovery as it ties into our vision of becoming a leading African upstream player with a global focus. This for us means increased opportunities to impact the lives of our people positively with the resources.”
He thanked God for bringing the company this far as well as his family for always being a pillar in this journey and Tullow Oil for their assistance in making this possible.
“I cannot leave out our partners, GNPC and the Government of Ghana, our vendors and the entire Springfield team.
“More importantly, I thank all the well-wishers who have been praying for us consistently to succeed,” he said in a Facebook post.
Chief Executive of GNPC, Dr. Kofi Koduah Sarpong said, “As the national oil company of Ghana, GNPC is proud of this feat, chalked in this all-Ghanaian partnership. This achievement fits into GNPC’s strategic pillars of: ‘replacing and growing reserves’ as well as ‘enhancing sustainability through local content development…’ This discovery demonstrates once again the high prospectivity of Ghana’s sedimentary basins and the Ghanaian capacity to deliver, given the opportunity.”
Springfield was given the block, known as West Cape Three Points Block 2, by Ghana’s government in 2016 after it was relinquished by Kosmos Energy following a protracted dispute with the government.
Komos made three discoveries namely Odum, Banda and Beech. Ghana’s oil holds promise to enrich the economic mix.
Over $100m invested in exploration
Springfield was awarded the block and it had invested well over $100 million in exploration and drilling.
From 2016 until now, the company has been building capacity for both upstream and downstream operations with a significant mix of experienced international industry practitioners working alongside their Ghanaian counterparts.
In April 2017 Springfield, which is a wholly-owned Ghanaian company, contracted the world’s largest seismic vessel, the Ramform Titan owned by Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS) to undertake a 3Dbroadbandseismic data acquisition on its Block.
Ghana expects to be producing about 250,000 barrels of oil a day by next year, which would make it the fourth-largest producer in sub-Saharan Africa.