Dominion Petroleum (LON:DPL) released today an operational update, confirming that the rig has been secured for drilling at their first Ugandan well at Block EA4B. The company also affirmed that a vessel has been secured for a 3D seismic shoot at offshore Tanzanian prospect, Block 7. The oil and gas explorer and producer today stated that it has signed a letter of intent with Oil and Gas Exploraiton Cracow (OGEC) for a rig to be drilled at the Ngaji-1 well, located on the exploration area block 4B (EA4B) in Uganda. Dominion Petroleum Limited explores for and intends to develop oil and gas projects, primarily in East Africa. Dominion's initial focus is in Tanzania, where it has secured 100 % of the rights under three production sharing agreements in respect of four exploration licences, covering a total area of approximately 10 million acres. The company expect the rig to be mobilised in May, and drilling to begin in June. The Ngaji-1 prospect is thought to contain unrisked recoverable reserves of over 100 million barrels of oil. The report also noted that an environmental and social impact assessment for a contingent seismic programme has also been initiated for any subsequent appraisal work on the prospect later in 2010.
The Ngaji-1 well is a tilted fault block located in an area similar to the Buffalo-Giraffe discovery in Exploration Area 1, reported to hold 400million barrels of oil. The company expect the results from the drill of Ngaji-1 to offer insight into the the entire basin's hydrocarbon potential, as well as the well itself. Providing it is successful, the company plan to progress rapidly, moving swiftly onto a exploration and appraisal activities at the EA4B well, and potentially the neighbouring block 5 in Congo. At Block 7, off shore Tanzania, the seismic programme has been scheduled to begin at the end of June, covering approximately 1,000 square kilometres. The operators will be Fugro-Geoteam AS, subject to government approval. The survey will focus on pre-tertiary structural and stratospheric structures. Andrew Cochran, Chief Executive of Dominion Petroleum, commented:
With the funds from our placing, all necessary services and equipment having been identified and now secured, we are kicking off our 2010 exploration programme. This includes the first ever well in the Lake Edward Basin of Uganda, as well as…
