Ntorya 3 Ready To Spud in H2 2018, As Ntorya Field declared Commercial

Aminex has said it expects spud the Ntorya 3 well in Tanzania in H2 2018 with the well planned to drill to a total depth (TD) of approximately 3,000m. Ntorya 3 is to be drilled in a stratigraphic feature similar to that encountered at Ntorya 1 and Ntorya 2, but further structural up-dip of the two discovery wells.

Aminex estimates the drilling costs to be $15 million with the primary target being the Albian slope channel complex/ turbidite sands reservoir. Aminex is currently looking for a suitable rig.

Upon success at Ntorya 3 the company envisages an Early Production System (EPS) at the well and some remediation work at Ntorya 1 and Ntorya 2 with pipeline to Madimba gas plant.  Longer term Full field development (FFD) has been proposed to be self-funded from cash flow generated by production from the EPS.

Meanwhile a competent person’s report prepared by RPS Energy Consultants Limited over the Company’s entire Tanzania asset base and the Ntorya Gas Commercialisation Study prepared by io oil & gas consulting last year, confirms the feasibility of developing the Ntorya gas field for commercial production.

According to io’s report a gas development project at Ntorya could be viable with three wells Ntorya 1, Ntorya 2 and Ntorya 3 producing into a raw-gas pipeline to the Madimba gas plant, approximately 33 km away.

Other principal results indicate that Ntorya Pmean GIIP increased to 1.87 TCF or 44% over previously reported management estimates of 1.3 TCF and a 12-fold increase over the 2015 CPR. Ntorya 2C gross Contingent Resources on the other hand increased to 762.8 BCF after the results of the Ntorya-2 well (approximately 11 times increase from 2015 CPR). This comprises 80.6 BCF of Contingent Resources ‘Development Pending’ from a three well development and 682.2 BCF of Contingent Resources ‘Development Unclarified’.

“The RPS CPR significantly exceeds management estimates published following Ntorya-2 drilling and testing and also exceeds the Company’s subsequent upgrade which was reported to shareholders following in-house technical work,” Aminex said in a statement.