Latest Oil Discovery is Poor Quality

HOUSTON, June 6 – A Kosmos Energy group said its Banda-1 exploratory well in the West Cape Three Points license off Ghana discovered light oil in thick but poor quality Cenomanian-aged turbidite reservoirs.

Banda-1 is the group’s first wildcat – which means it was the first well on completely untested ground – designed specifically to investigate Cenomanian potential on the block. Finding light oil in a thick sandstone package is encouraging, and the group will integrate the well results into the regional geologic model to reevaluate the remaining potential in other prospects at this stratigraphic level on its acreage.


The Banda-1 ‘wildcat’ well was drilled to 4,580 metres on the deep-water offshore West Cape Three Points licence.


The wildcat well however only found a small amount light oil and most of the reservoir had poor quality. The well encountered a gross vertical interval of 300 metres, which Tullow said contains over 100 metres of low porosity sandstone and 3 metres with approximately 40 degree API oil pay.

"Banda-1 was our first wildcat designed specifically to investigate the potential of Cenomanian age reservoirs in West Cape Three Points,” said Tullow’s exploration director Anguss McCross.


“Finding some light oil in such a thick sandstone package is an encouraging first step, however the reservoir is poor quality at this location.” Tullow said it would integrate the Banda result into the regional geological model so that it can re-evaluate the potential of other prospects.