Turkana oil strike.

Mar 26 – Kenya has made historic breakthrough in oil exploration with the discovery of what is technically described as 20 meters of oil pay in Turkana County.

The discovery was made public on Monday by President Mwai Kibaki during the release of government performance contracting results in Nairobi.

He said he was “given the good news” by the country’s Energy Minister Kiraitu Murungi on Monday morning.

“Tullow Oil which has been prospecting for oil in block 10BB in Turkana County discovered oil in Ngami 1 Well at a depth of between 846 and 1,041 meters.”

“They established over 20 meters of what is technically referred to as oil pay. To establish the commercial viability if this oil, they are to drill multiple wells. This is the first time Kenya has made such a discovery and it is very good news for our country.” source: capitalfmNEWS


Kenya strikes oil in Turkana
President Kibaki on Monday announced the discovery of oil in Turkana county, located in the country's arid north-western region.

The President said successful drilling of the oil is still years away.

Energy Minister Kiraitu Murungi added a sweetener to the "important announcement", explaining that Kenya's oil deposits could be bigger than Uganda's.

"This morning, I have been informed by the Minister for Energy that our country has made a major breakthrough in oil exploration. This weekend, Tullow Oil, which has been prospecting for oil in block 10 BB in Turkana County, discovered oil in Ngamia-1 well, at a depth of between 846 and 1041 metres. They established over 20 metres of what is technically referred to as OIL-PAY. To establish commercial viability of this oil, they have to drill multiple wells," said President Kibaki.
read on: Daily Nation March 26th, 2012.

Ngamia-1 oil discovery in Kenya Rift Basin

NGAMIA DRILL SITE, image source: www.africaoilcorp.com

Tullow Oil plc (Tullow) announces that the Ngamia-1 exploration well in Kenya has encountered in excess of 20 metres of net oil pay.

The well, located in the Turkana County of Kenya Block 10BB, was drilled to an intermediate depth of 1,041 metres and has been successfully logged and sampled. Moveable oil with an API greater than 30 degrees has been recovered to surface. This oil has similar properties to the light waxy crude discovered in Uganda.

The Ngamia structure is the first prospect to be tested as part of a multi-well drilling campaign in Kenya and Ethiopia. Many leads and prospects similar to Ngamia have been identified and following this discovery the outlook for further success has been significantly improved.

The well will now be drilled to a depth of approximately 2,700 metres to explore for deeper potential. On completion of operations, the Weatherford 804 rig will move to the Tullow Operated Block 10A where the Paipai-1 wildcat will spud in 2H 2012.

Tullow has a 50% operated interest in multiple licences in the Kenya & Ethiopia Rift Basins covering in excess of 100,000 square kilometres. The Turkana County, where the Ngamia discovery has been made, is one of seven basins mapped in Tullow’s acreage and is similar in size to the 9,000 square kilometre Lake Albert Rift basin in Uganda.

Tullow (50%) operates Block 10BB and is partnered by Africa Oil (50%).

Commenting today, Angus McCoss, Exploration Director, said:
"This is an excellent start to our major exploration campaign in the East African rift basins of Kenya and Ethiopia. To make a good oil discovery in our first well is beyond our expectations and bodes well for the material programme ahead of us. Tullow is working closely with the Government and people of Kenya as a committed long term partner to unlock the oil potential of the region. We look forward to further success as seismic and drilling activities continue to gather pace."
source: www.tullowoil.com