Swala Energy Exits Kenya’s Block 12B

There is uncertainty on whether Australian firm Swala Energy which held 50 percent equity in Kenya’s block 12B has relinquished its share with the Tullow Oil website indicating that the operator now holds 100 percent equity.

Tullow Block 12BSwala’s Tanzania subsidiary that remains the only functioning website by the Australian explorer shows no Kenyan acreage in its assets category further confirming that it could have exited/relinquished the acreage.

Swala Energy Assets

Ahero A2The exit if confirmed comes just months before the planned drilling in Block 12B where the joint venture recently announced the commencement of a Full-Tensor Gravity (“FTG”) Survey expected to help gain further data on this prospective area where the operator Tullow Oil and Swala Energy have until 16th of August 2017 within which to drill the 12B exploration well.

The Ahero lead “A” prospect located on the northern margin of the Nyanza Graben and transected by five seismic lines has been identified by seismic as the first major structure that could potentially trap any migrating hydrocarbons from the basin and has a 10.9mmstb estimate and an estimated 10 percent chance of success.

Whereas efforts to get any explanation as at the publishing of this article Kito propsect2D imagewere futile the Australian explorer has been facing hurdles in finding a farm-in partner after the departure of Compañía Española de Petróleos   (CEPSA) while in Tanzania where a majority of its activity is there have been squabbles with its JV partner Otto energy that are currently before the Australian high court. The planned drilling of the Kito prospect in 2016 was postponed following the disputes.

Earlier Compañía Española de Petróleos  (CEPSA) withdrew from the PSC after it was uncomfortable with the scheduled drilling by Swala Energy which announced it will be drilling its first exploratory well in Kenya’s block 12B in 2015.

Block 12B is located on the Nyanza Rift, a part of the East African Rift System (EARS) about 300km south of the recent oil discoveries in the Lokichar basin.

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