More oil discoveries in Lagos soon - Experts

FOLLOWING the announcements of oil discoveries in Lagos offshore, experts are of the opinion that more oil discoveries may be made in the state in near future. An oil and gas expert, who also doubles as the Director, ANDORA Technologies Ltd, Mr Bayo Akinpelu, told the Nigerian Tribune on Thursday that it was possible for more oil to be discovered in commercial quantities in Lagos. A source within the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), who pleaded anonymity, assured the Nigerian Tribune that it was a matter of time before another oil exploration firm announced new oil discoveries in Lagos. “I can reliably inform you that another leading indigenous company may soon announce oil discoveries from Aje oil assets located on Oil Mining License (OML) 113. It is difficult to predict the time, but it may surely come to past soon,” he said. OML 113 is located adjacent to the OPL310 area, in which oil discoveries were announced on Wednesday. OML113 hosts the Aje oil and gas field, which is estimated to have contingent resources of nearly 200 millon barrels of oil equivalent. However, Nigerian Tribune independently gathered that the OML113 licence interest holders include Lekoil, Yinka Folawiyo Petroleum (Operator), Vitol Exploration Nigeria, Chevron and P.R Oil and Gas. Optimum, along with drilling partners, Afren and Lekoil, struck a significant light oil accumulation at the Ogo-1 well on the Ogo prospect in OPL 310 off Nigeria on Wednesday. The well was drilled to 3,205 metres and threw up a gross hydrocarbons column of 160 metres with 66 metres of net stacked pay. Optimum was targeting 78 million barrels of oil, equivalent of potential resource in its initial target. However, Afren wrote in a statement on Wednesday: “Based on evidence to date, targeted resources are likely to be significantly in excess of previous estimates. “The Ogo-1 discovery, testing a four-way dip-closed structure in the Turonian, Cenomanian, and Albian sandstone reservoirs, confirms the extension of the same Cretaceous sandstones that have yielded other significant discoveries along the West African transform margin.” The Ogo-1 probe spudded on April 23. A sidetrack will also be drilled, aiming for a separate structure with a resource potential of about 124 million barrels of oil equivalents. culled from Tribune news