Rig contract signed for drilling offshore Gabon – well to spud in late April
Panoro Energy ASA ("PEN", OSE ticker code), the independent oil and gas company with assets in West Africa and Brazil, is pleased to announce that a rig contract has been signed with Transocean for the Sedneth 701 semi-submersible drilling rig, to drill the Ruche prospect on the Dussafu Marin Permit, offshore Gabon. The well is expected to spud in late April 2011.
The Ruche Marin well will be located about 50 km offshore Gabon in 116m water depth. The primary reservoir target for the well is the Gamba sandstone which is a high quality pre-salt reservoir. The Gamba target was identified using reprocessed 3D seismic data, and Panoro Energy’s pre-drill estimate for the target is 30 MMBOE (100%). In addition to Gamba the well will also penetrate the upper Dentale formation to a total depth of 3,080m. Provided that an oil column is found in the upper Dentale, deeper secondary targets may be drilled in the lower Dentale to a total depth of 3,700m. A material discovery will be production tested and sidetracked to better delineate its size.
Kjetil Solbraekke, CEO of Panoro commented; “We are very pleased that the operator has entered into a rig contract and we look forward to drilling Panoro’s first exploration well. We carry a one in three chance of success on this well, and fiscal terms and low development costs mean that even relatively small discoveries can be profitable.”
The Dussafu partners and the Republic of Gabon, represented by the Ministry of Mines, Energy, Petroleum and Hydraulic Resources, entered into the second exploration phase of the Dussafu Production Sharing Contract with an effective date of May 28, 2007. It has been agreed that the second exploration phase will be extended until May 27, 2012, at which time the partners can elect to enter a third exploration phase.
Dussafu Marin is operated by Harvest Dussafu B.V., an affiliate of Harvest Natural Resources, Inc. Panoro Energy has a 33.33% stake held through a subsidiary company.
For more information, please contact:
Jonas Gamre, Finance & Investor Relations Manager
Tel: +47 23 01 10 02
Cell: +47 971 18 292
Email: jonas.gamre@panoroenergy.com