The drilling of Aje-5 well on the OML 113 license, offshore Nigeria, has now reached targeted depth of 3,255 metres measured depth, having been drilled with the Saipem Scarabeo 3 semi-submersible drilling rig in 300 metres water depth according to an update provided by Panoro Energy

Aje is an offshore field located in the western part of Nigeria in the Dahomey Basin close to the border with Benin. The field is situated in water depths ranging from 100 to 1,000 metres about 24 km from the coast. Panoro Energy holds a 6.502% participating interest in OML 113 (with a 12.1913% revenue interest and 16.255% paying interest in the Aje Field). The Aje Field contains hydrocarbon resources in sandstone reservoirs in three main levels - a Turonian gas condensate reservoir, a Cenomanian oil reservoir and an Albian gas condensate reservoir. Aje-2 was drilled in 1997 and it was for tested a high quality oil-bearing Cenomanian reservoir.  Drilling operations at Aje-5 have been completed ahead of schedule with no safety related incidents reported and the well is now being completed as a subsea oil production well.  

The Aje-5 well subsequently resumed drilling to the target Cenomanian where the well encountered 19.4 metres of gross oil-bearing reservoir. A fuller set of LWD tools including gamma ray; resistivity, neutron and density have been run which confirm the presence of oil consistent with pre-drill estimates. After these operations the rig will be moved to re-enter the existing Aje-4 well to complete it as a second Cenomanian production well. A further operational update will be provided at that time.

“We are pleased to see the excellent operational results to date in the drilling of the Aje-5 well and to report that the well has been efficiently drilled ahead of schedule by the operating team. The drilling of the 2 production wells is a significant part of the overall Aje development capex and we are very encouraged by the project execution so far.  We look forward to reaching first oil in the coming months and establishing a renewed platform for 2016 and beyond.” John Hamilton, Panoro Energy CEO told Energy-pedia.