BG Tanzania completes gas well test

BY THE GUARDIAN REPORTER

2nd May 2013

BG Group Plc Chief Executive Officer, Chris Finlayson

BG Tanzania announced yesterday that it had completed another successful drill stem test in Block 1 offshore, some 45km from the coast near Mtwara, with initial results from the Mzia-2 well showing “better than expected properties”.

“The test on the Mzia-2 well flowed at a maximum rate of 57 million standard cubic feet of natural gas per day, constrained by testing equipment,” a press statement issued by BG Group said.

“This is more gas than was expected to flow from this well, and therefore a positive development,” it added, describing “drill stem test” as a standard procedure within gas exploration activities that helps in determining the properties of a gas reservoir.

BG Group Chief Executive Chris Finlayson said the Mzia-2 drill stem test followed completion of a multi-well appraisal programme earlier this year on the nearby Jodari field.

“Results from the current campaign demonstrate the excellent quality of our interests offshore Tanzania, where our resources, and those of other participants in the region, are helping support plans for a multi-train LNG (liquefied natural gas) export project,” he added.

Finlayson explained that alongside continuing exploration and appraisal offshore, “BG Group and its partners are also jointly studying suitable sites for a potential onshore LNG terminal and anticipate providing proposed locations to the Government of Tanzania in the next few months”.

An LNG plant is required to commercialise the gas finds to enable the country to fully benefit from the natural gas wealth.

BG Group President and Asset General Manager - East Africa, Derek Hudson, meanwhile said the successful drill stem test on Mzia-2 was “another important milestone in developing Tanzania’s natural gas resources, coming less than 12 months after the original Mzia discovery”.

“This swift progress reflects the commitment of all stakeholders, particularly the Government and the communities in which we operate, to ensuring the full benefits of the country’s natural gas resources are realised,” he noted.

Mzia-2 is 4km from the Mzia-1 discovery, in around 1620 metres of water and about 22km to the north of the Jodari-1 discovery well, also in Block 1, where a successful drill stem test was completed in March.

The drillship Deepsea Metro-1 has now relocated to Block 4 to drill an exploration well, Ngisi-1, just next to the existing Pweza and Chewa discoveries.

BG Group is planning to use data from the current exploration and appraisal campaign and a recently completed 3-D seismic survey to help identify new offshore targets for a third exploration programme beginning late this year. It says these ongoing activities represent significant investments in Tanzania and are indicative of its positivity for the gas industry in the country.

Prior to Mzia-2, BG Tanzania has had seven consecutive natural gas discoveries, two successful appraisal wells, and a successful test on the Jodari field.

BG Group as operator has a 60 per cent interest in Blocks 1, 3 and 4 offshore Tanzania, with Ophir Energy holding the remaining 40 per cent.

BG Group plc is a world leader in natural gas, with a strategy focused on connecting competitively priced resources to specific, high-value markets.

Active in more than 20 countries on five continents, it has a broad portfolio of business interests focused on exploration and production and LNG. It combines a deep understanding of gas markets with a proven track record in finding and commercialising reserves. 

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN