Spain’s Repsol said Thursday that it drilled dry at its Watermelon well in offshore Canary Islands.
The well was drilled to a total depth of 10,147 feet on January 11 and encountered non-commercial gas shows.
“The analysis of samples obtained showed the presence of gas (from methane to hexane) but without the necessary volume nor quality to consider future extraction,” Repsol said.
The exploratory survey confirmed that oil and gas have been generated in the targeted basin but deposits were saturated with water and the hydrocarbons present were in very thin, non-exploitable layers.
At the start of this campaign, Repsol estimated the possibility of finding hydrocarbons at between 15 percent and 20 percent.
No further exploratory activity will be carried out in the area.
The well was sealed and abandoned.
The Rowan Renaissance dynamically-positioned drillship will return to Angola to continue Repsol’s exploration campaign in that country.
The disappointing results follow a ten year battle with environmentalist groups to drill around the island archipelago.
The waters between the Canary Islands and Morocco are though to hold enough reserves to fill 10 percent of Spain’s hydrocarbon demand, Bloomberg said.
