West African coasts spew more oil…as Anadarko, Tullow discover new oil field
A significantly huge oil field has been discovered at Venus exploration, off the coast of Sierra Leone, spanning approximately 1,100 kilometers from Ghana's jubilee fields, spurring new hopes of other major finds in the subregion.
US oil group, Anadarko, of which UK-listed explorer Tullow Oil holds 10% shares, has announced in a statement issued last Wednesday. “The Venus discovery confirms the existence of an active petroleum system in the basin, and enhances the prospectivity of our vast West Africa acreage position,” Bob Daniels, Anadarko Snr. Vice President, Worldwide Exploration, said in a statement.
“We are optimistic that the continued success of our West African Cretaceous program will create substantial value for our stakeholders, as well as the people of West Africa, through continued investment and increased activity. Anadarko plans to drill two to five wells in the trend next year,” the group stated.
The latest discovery comes a few years after Tullow made significant finds in Ghana's jubilee field, one of West Africa's biggest oil strikes in recent years, likely to contain recoverable reserves of at least 1.2 billion barrels of oil equivalent.
The Venus Prospect is one of Anadarko's more than 30 identified prospects and leads on its West Africa acreage position, which includes interests in almost 8 million acres across 10 blocks offshore Sierra Leone, Liberia, Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana.
Anadarko operates seven of the blocks, and the majority of the identified prospects, with an average working interest of approximately 40 percent.
The company plans to continue its West Africa drilling operations in the Cretaceous Trend, by drilling the South Grand Lahou exploration well in block CI 105 offshore Cote d'Ivoire, once activities are completed at the Venus discovery well. Anadarko operates the Venus well with a 40-percent working interest. Co-owners in the discovery include Woodside (25-percent working interest), Repsol (25-percent working interest) and Tullow (10-percent working interest).