Sasol has announced the completion of the first ever 3D onshore seismic programme in the Inhassoro field in Mozambique.

The seismic involved the acquisition of 115km² of data in the field which forms part of Sasol’s onshore production sharing agreement (PSA) licence area.

This area is to be developed in phases. The phase 1 of development involves a combined oil, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and gas project close to Sasol’s existing petroleum production agreement (PPA) area, where it is drilling 13 oil and gas development wells.

The South African petroleum company has made significant improvement on Tranche 1 of the PSA development approved by the Council of Ministers on January 26, 2016.

Sasol has chosen Geofizyka Torun to secure a two-dimensional and 3D seismic data using Vibroseis trucks.

According to the company, the 3D data will improve its understanding of the structure of the oil accumulations considerably, via better resolution and more definite characterization of the reservoir.

The seismic acquisition programme will now extend to the Pande field within the PPA licence area, where 42 km² of 3D seismic data will be acquired, Engineering news reports.

Sasol exploration and production Vice President, John Sichinga, said the PSA drilling campaign was also progressing, with the completion of the first two wells.

“The tests conducted thus far have produced encouraging results. During the course of drilling of the second well, we encountered previously unknown accumulations of hydrocarbons within the development and production area, which indicate the presence of both gas and oil. We have issued a notice of discovery to the Mozambican authorities as per the PSA and will continue our evaluation of the data,” he said.

Anita Fatunji