African Petroleum Finds Drilling Success Off Liberia

- African Petroleum Finds Drilling Success Off Liberia

Friday, September 09, 2011
African Petroleum

African Petroleum has completed drilling the first well (Apalis-1) in deep water offshore Liberia in Block LB-09.

The results of Apalis-1 confirm Blocks LB-08 and LB-09 (100% owned by African Petroleum) are located in a prospective oil basin, which is a major step forward. The geological and geophysical data have confirmed the critical components of a working hydrocarbon system are present and functioning. The Company is now accelerating a multi well drilling program on the 25+ exploration prospects identified on Blocks LB-08 & LB-09 offshore Liberia and are planning to drill the next well during 4th quarter 2011 and 1st quarter 2012.

Apalis-1 was drilled to a depth of 3665 meters and encountered oil shows in several geological units including the shallower (Tertiary) and deeper (Cretaceous) and petrophysical analysis indicates the presence of hydrocarbons. The well also confirmed the presence of organic oil prone source rocks confirming that Blocks LB-08 & LB-09 are in an attractive oil basin.

No commercial quality reservoir with hydrocarbons was encountered and consequently no well production test was undertaken.

The well was drilled without any technical problems and the costs have been materially under budget.

Having confirmed a working hydrocarbon system with the first well the forward exploration programme will focus on the deeper basinal zone where improved reservoir quality is anticipated in the well-developed Cretaceous fan system.

Karl Thompson, CEO, comments that “This is the first the first ever frontier well in the deep water in Liberia and has confirmed we are exploring in a highly prospective oil basin which was its key objective and we are committed to continuing exploration in the area”.

SIERRA LEONE

The 3D seismic survey underway in Block SL-03 Sierra Leone (100% owned by African Petroleum) to the west of the Anadarko Venus and Mercury discoveries is progressing well and is now 65% complete. The 3D survey is the start of the initial exploration phase in exploring for similar Upper Cretaceous targets as the nearby Mercury and Venus discoveries.

GAMBIA

The interpretation of the 3D seismic survey in The Gambia (60% owned by African Petroleum) is progressing very well and an extensive system of Upper Cretaceous fan systems has clearly been identified.

African Petroleum is one of the largest net exploration holders in the West African Upper Cretaceous Exploration fairway and is making continued progress in acquiring new exploration licences.

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Anadarko Executive: Drilling First Deep-Water Well Off Liberia

- Anadarko Executive: Drilling First Deep-Water Well Off Liberia

Thursday, August 18, 2011
Dow Jones Newswires
HOUSTON
by Ryan Dezember

Anadarko plans an aggressive deep-water exploration campaign worldwide over the next year and a half, the head of the company's exploration unit said Wednesday.

"The inventory of opportunities we have is better than it's ever been," Bob Daniels, Anadarko's senior vice president of Worldwide Exploration, said during a speech webcast from an investor conference in Denver. "We will continue with a very aggressive exploration program around the world."

The Houston company's success in Ghana, where it last year brought the vast Jubilee discovery into production, has spread into neighboring West African nations, he said. In addition to offshore exploration in Sierra Leone and the Ivory Coast, Anadarko is drilling Liberia's first deep-water well at the company's Montserrado prospect.

Judging from seismic data and other geologic factors, the Montserrado prospect "is a look-alike" to the Jubilee discovery, Daniels said.

Jubilee is estimated to hold the equivalent of between 600 million and 1.5 billion barrels of oil.

In all, Anadarko plans 15 deep-water exploration and appraisal wells in West African waters, Daniels said.

In East Africa, where Anadarko has already made a huge natural gas discovery off Mozambique, the company holds some 14 million acres. Daniels said Anadarko will bring a second rig to Mozambique in the fourth quarter and anticipates drilling prospects off Kenya, where Anadarko has leased "most of the deep water," next year.

Deep-water exploration is also slated to begin off New Zealand next year, he said.

"In the deep-water Gulf of Mexico, we have an inventory of discoveries and we have a very, very deep portfolio of exploration wells to drill," Daniels said.

The second-largest acreage holder in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, Anadarko plans five deep-water exploration wells there this year and between six and eight exploration and appraisal wells next year.

In the last three weeks Anadarko has obtained three drilling permits from U.S. regulators, he said.

"That's very good progress in that we now have some confidence that when we apply for a permit we know about how long its going to take," he said. "That allows us to then put rig contracts in place."

Permits have been difficult to come by since last year's deadly Deepwater Horizon disaster. Anadarko was a minority owner of BP's doomed well, which blew out and caused the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

Anadarko said last month that it has agreed to jointly develop its Lucius field in the Gulf with ExxonMobil, which has its own big discoveries a few miles away. Lucius is believed to hold 300 million barrels of high-quality crude and Daniels said he expects the project to be sanctioned by the end of this year with first production planned for 2014.

Copyright (c) 2011 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

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Danos & Curole Bags Multi-Million Dollar Contract for Chevron Liberia

- Danos & Curole Bags Multi-Million Dollar Contract for Chevron Liberia

Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Danos & Curole

Danos & Curole was awarded a multi-million dollar contract from Chevron Liberia to provide drilling support services in Liberia, West Africa.

Danos & Curole's consultant service business will carry out preparation work for exploratory drilling activities off the coast of Liberia for Chevron Liberia and will participate in performing the operations in the first deepwater well in the 4th quarter of 2011.

Executive Vice President, Eric Danos commented, "Danos & Curole is excited to build on its long time partnership with Chevron to explore Liberia. Our focus has been on innovating ways to improve the safety and quality of our services throughout the world, and we believe our
success is recognized through additional opportunities such as this one."

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Chevron: Exploratory Oil Drilling in Liberia to Start in 4Q

- Chevron: Exploratory Oil Drilling in Liberia to Start in 4Q

Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Dow Jones Newswires
HOUSTON
by Isabel Ordonez

Chevron said Tuesday that in the fourth quarter of this year it will start exploratory drilling off the coast of Liberia, a West African nation that doesn't yet produce crude, but holds promising acreage.

"We plan to drill in the fourth quarter of this year," said Mickey Driver, a company's spokesman, in an email.

Last year, Chevron signed a three-year deal with Liberia to explore for oil offshore. Chevron Chief Executive John Watson visited the country for the first time this week and said the company has a rig that will be entering Liberian waters shortly, according to a local news report.

Chevron's foray is the latest in an emerging oil region in West Africa, where giant fields such as Tullow Oil's Jubilee and Anadarko's Venus have been found.

Liberia is still healing from long years of strife. The discovery of oil would greatly boost the recovery of the agrarian nation, one of the world's poorest, and propel it into the ranks of budding African oil powers like Ghana and Uganda.

Copyright (c) 2011 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

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