Tullow strikes more oil in second well

London-listed oil explorer Tullow has announced discovery of additional oil deposits at its second well, Twiga South-1, raising Kenya’s hopes of having commercially viable black gold.

In a statement, the company, however, said that drilling is ongoing and that it will issue full results of the find by mid November once target depth has been achieved.

Full analysis to be made

“Tullow Oil Plc announces that the Twiga South-1 exploration well has successfully encountered oil.

"Drilling is on-going and as previously stated by partners Africa Oil Corp, an announcement of the drilling result is expected in early to mid November after target depth has been achieved and necessary sampling and analysis completed,” read the statement in part.

The block is jointly owned by Tullow Oil Plc and Africa Oil Corp of Canada with each operating a 50 per cent interest. Drilling targets to reach a depth of 3,114 metres.

Both companies have joint interest in Block 10BB where the first oil discovery was made in March this year at the Ngamia-1 well. The find has since generated increased interest in exploration activities in the country from international companies.

Drilling at the Twiga South-1 well started about a month ago after the company came across an unexpected geological formation at the Ngamia-1 well, forcing it to suspend further drilling before achieving the targeted depth.

Net pay oil

At that time, drilling at Ngamia-1 well had encountered more than 100 metres of net pay oil which, according to industry analysts, is an impressive indication given that the find occurred in the company’s first attempt to search for oil locally.