Kosmos Energy said Monday that its Tortue-1 exploration well discovered a “significant” gas pay zone in offshore Mauritania, a small country on the western coast of North Africa.
The well was drilled to a depth of 15,190 feet to test the Tortue West prospect in offshore Block C-8.
Tortue-1 intersected 351 feet of net hydrocarbon pay in a single gas pool in the primary Lower Cenomanian objective, Bermuda-based Kosmos said.
The Lower Cenomanian is comprised of three “excellent quality” multi-Darcy reservoirs totaling 288 feet in thickness over a gross hydrocarbon bearing interval of 528 feet .
Tortue-1 also penetrated a fourth zone with a thickness of 62 feet within the secondary Upper Cenomanian target over a gross hydrocarbon bearing interval of 492 feet.
The well is located in 8,858 feet of water and was drilled by the Atwood Achiever drillship.
Tortue-1 is now drilling to a planned total depth of 17,224 feet and an appraisal program is being coordinated to delineate the Tortue West discovery.
“Volumetrically, the Tortue-1 well has far exceeded our pre-drill expectations and has discovered a large scale gas resource…. Importantly, given the results and excellent well-to-seismic calibration, the Tortue-1 well has significantly de-risked our large and under-explored 27,000 square kilometer deepwater position in Mauritania,” Kosmos chairman and CEO Andrew G. Inglis said.
Kosmos owns a 90 percent interest in the Tortue Prospect and Mauritania’s Société Mauritanienne Des Hydrocarbures et de Patrimoine Minier (SMHPM) holds a 10 percent interest.
