ERHC Reports Oil & Gas Shows At Kenya’s Tarach-1 Well

American explorer ERHC has said it encountered significant oil shows and highly-elevated gas readings at the Tarach-1 well located in Block 11A indicating the presence of a working petroleum system with the strong possibility of significant hydrocarbon generation.

According to the latest update from the oil explorer Tarach-1 well encountered two different hydrocarbon charged intervals, the first extending over 100 meters.

Terming the results encouraging President and Chief Executive Officer Peter Ntephe said information from the drilling revealed the possibility for further exploration.

The objective of the well was to establish a working petroleum system and test a three-way structural closure trapping against a North-South trending normal fault.

The new update contradicts sentiments by commissioner for petroleum Martin Heya at the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum in September who although noting that the block operator was yet to furnish the ministry with the technical details of the drilling it had notified the government on the status of the well as dry.

“We are yet to get the technical details from CEPSA although we already have word that Tarach-1 was a dry well,” Heya told OilNews Kenya in September. Another source had earlier termed the preliminary results as disappointing without revealing any further details.

ERHC adds that Tarach-1 exploratory well which commenced drilling in April has been plugged following conclusion of drilling as post-well analysis continues.

Tarach 1 was drilled from a 20-inch surface casing through intermediate casings down to 2,442 meters and set a seven-inch liner down to total depth (TD) of 3,000 meters with the Tarach-1 prospect’s mean estimate of oil prospective unrisked resources earlier estimated at 66 million barrels.

As per records on exploration and drilling expenses filed by ERHC to the United States Securities And Exchange Commission the two partners used over $25 million of which the American explorer sank $4.5 million.

ERHC shareholders will be happy to know that under the previous arrangement CEPSA was to be involved in continued participation only in the case of a hydrocarbons find.

CEPSA has also planned second exploratory well , the Egole-1 a four-way rollover closure onto a Northwest – Southeast trending fault plain with mean prospective resources of 101 million barrels another of 13 drillable prospects.

The block is operated by CEPSA. State-run National Oil Corporation of Kenya (NOCK) and US-based corporation ERHC share the remaining stake, with 10% and 35% respectively