(SHARECAST) – Oil giant Tullow has been forced to pull out of another one of its exploration wells, this time off the coast of Cote D’Ivoire.
The company, which has seen its stock drop nearly 18% so far in 2013 on the back of a series of disappointing exploration updates, said that its Calao-1X well encountered good quality reservoir sandstones but these were found to be water bearing.
The well was then sidetracked to target a better developed reservoir unit down-dip but these sandstones were also water bearing too. « Following completion of logging operations the well will be plugged and abandoned, » Tullow said.
The well was the second one drilled on the CI-103 licence, in which operator Tullow carries a 30% interest. Anadarko Petroleum owns 55% while the Societé Nationale d’Opérations Pétrolières de Côte D’Ivoire owns 5.0% plus a 10% carried interest.
« While this is not the result we were aiming for, both the condensate and the reservoirs that we encountered have added substantially to our knowledge in this frontier area, » said Exploration Director Angus McCoss.
« The appraisal of the light oil discovered down-dip in Paon-1X in 2012 will continue later this year with the drilling of the Paon-2A well. Having sold some of our equity for carries in the CI-103 licence – a decision that was taken prior to the drilling of the Calao-1X well – our stake in both the Calao-1X and Paon-2A wells has been consequently reduced. »
Reuters
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