Simba Energy to Commence 2D seismic in Kenya’s Block 2A in a fortnight

Kenya’s Block 2A operator Simba Energy has said it will commence the shooting of lines of 2D seismic in the next 7-12 days having already completed the necessary preparations.

According to new Chief Executive Officer of Essel Group ME and Simba Energy Punkaj Gupta the seismic will usher the commencement of a drilling programme later in the year.

“Simba Energy is at an extremely exciting stage of its development, with preparations for the 2D seismic survey now complete on the Block 2A asset in Kenya, and the shooting of lines about to commence in the next 10-15 days, in preparation of the commencement of a drill programme later in 2016. I look forward to updating shareholders of our progress in due course,” said Punkaj Gupta, Chief Executive Officer of Essel Group ME and Simba Energy on 2nd June.

The JV partner Essel who acquired equity in the block last year August agreed to a minimum exploration program for Block 2A comprising additional 2D seismic, possible 3D seismic, and drilling on at least two prospects over the next 12 to 18 months, with a minimum estimated cost of $60 million USD.

The seismic exercise involves the acquiring and interpreting of up to 500 line kms of 2D seismic data which will also confirm depths and support the volume estimates necessary for a revised resource estimate and risk category for the concession’s prospects and other secondary targeted structures.

The seismic acquisition follows the completion of aerial FTG (Full Tensor Gradiometry) survey analysis and interpretation by Bell Geospace in August 2014 which identified five structural features with independent closures varying in size from 30kms² to +100kms² in both the Mandera and Anza basins.

Simba Energy had earlier also collected passive seismic data from 218 listening stations covered the Company’s existing three leads. Data results obtained were reported by GeoDynamics Worldwide as being of high (clean) quality and expected to correlate well with existing 2D seismic during processing.

Block 2A (7,801.72 km2) overlies the southern tip of the Mandera Basin while the southwest corner of the block extends into the Anza Basin.

To date four wells have been drilled in the Mandera basin with oil shows encountered at 40-44m in the Tarbaj stratigraphic well drilled by Total while in the Anza basin over a dozen wells drilled in the Anza Basin have encountered oil shows and/or gas shows with one gas discovery at Sala-1 in Block 9 by Africa Oil.

In the Anza basin lower Cretaceous reef structures have been mapped with a potential reservoir thickness of 300m-500m.

Recently Taipan Resources through its Kenyan subsidiary drilled the Badada-1 well to the south of Block 2A to a total depth of 3,500 metres MDBRT encountering no hydrocarbons.

Meanwhile Gagan Goel has been named Chairman and Director in the Company’s Annual General Meeting of Shareholders held on May 31, 2016