Heritage reports largest oil find

Mar 01, 2007

HERITAGE Oil and Gas has announced the largest oil find at their Kingfisher well in western Uganda. The flow rate is 13,893 barrels per day (bpd), more than a combined find from three wells operated by another oil driller, Hardman Resources.

By Emmy Olaki

HERITAGE Oil and Gas has announced the largest oil find at their Kingfisher well in western Uganda.

The flow rate is 13,893 barrels per day (bpd), more than a combined find from three wells operated by another oil driller, Hardman Resources.

The flow rate is 13,893 barrels per day (bpd), more than a combined find from three wells operated by another oil driller, Hardman Resources. Hardman Resources operates north of Kingfisher.

Unlike previous drilling results where the company found substantial quantities of carbondioxide in the oil in Semliki, the find, this time, is good quality with a low gas to oil ratio. Excessive carbondioxide jeopardises the commercial viability of the oil.

“The cumulative flow rate has surpassed our expectations. The test results indicate outstanding potential, substantially lowers the exploration risk of drilling other multiple targets. It is a step closer to production and commercial viability,” Tony Buckingham, the company’s chief executive, said.

He said the company is accelerating the work programme to maximise potential of what could be a world-class petroleum basin.

“All the five wells drilled in the Albert basin in the last 15 months have led to oil discoveries, which we consider exceptional for a virgin onshore hydro-carbon basin. Kingfisher is the second well to produce over 12,000 bpd. This is an exciting time for Heritage as this licence could transform the company,” Buckingham said.

The company has already contracted to acquire more data on the block, with further drilling of this prospect expected to start after acquisition and interpretation of the data to be found.

Efforts are also being made to acquire a higher capacity rig, capable of deeper drilling to explore the deepest parts, which were not penetrated by the Kingfisher well. In addition, initial plans are being developed to drill the offshore Pelican prospect next year.

Heritage is the second company to find oil in Uganda. Last year, Hardman Resources drilled three wells in Block 2, also in Bunyoro, and found a cumulative flow rate of 12,040 bpd. Although the company explored about 6% of the block, the total find was about 300 million barrels, with recoverable quantities estimated at 100 million barrels.

Another company, Tower Oil, recently started prospecting in the same basin.

Following these discoveries, the Government last year signed an early production agreement with Hardman in which a mini-refinery might be built in Bunyoro to produce oil to run a power plant. Production is expected to start in 2009.

The commissioner of the Petroleum Exploration and Production Department, Reuben Kashambuzi, said the find confirms that the graben is prospective. “At this rate, we will be an oil- producing country soon. We might have a small basin, but the success rate more than compensates for the size,” he explained.

Kashambuzi said this is the first place in the world where every well drilled has oil prospects. “We need to do more work to sum up the results,” he said.

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