7/22/2013 | Other countries

Murombe-1 exploration well results

Galp Energia announces that the Murombe-1 exploration well, the second well in the 2013 exploration drilling campaign offshore Republic of Namibia, has been concluded and the results proved it to be a dry hole. The Murombe-1 well, located in the Petroleum Exploration License (PEL) 23 and spudded on June 1, was drilled in water depths of circa 1,390 meters and has reached a final depth of 5,729 meters. The well is currently being plugged and abandoned.

Galp Energia announces that the Murombe-1 exploration well, the second well in the 2013 exploration drilling campaign offshore Republic of Namibia, has been concluded and the results proved it to be a dry hole. The Murombe-1 well, located in the Petroleum Exploration License (PEL) 23 and spudded on June 1, was drilled in water depths of circa 1,390 meters and has reached a final depth of 5,729 meters. The well is currently being plugged and abandoned.


The main objective of the well was to test the resource potential of the Murombe (Barremian age) basin floor fan system, which showed a well-defined amplitude anomaly on 3D PSDM seismic. The drilling plan was to penetrate the top Murombe reservoir and reach total depth (TD) below the reservoir at 5,658 meters, run the wireline logs, conduct sidewall core sampling, acquire fluid samples and abandon the well. A secondary target, the Baobab (Santonian age) confined channel complex, would also be penetrated.


The Murombe-1 well penetrated the Baobab objective and it contained 36 meters of net sand within a gross interval of 242 meters. The average porosity was 19% and the sands were wet.


First indications show that the well-developed marine source rock encountered in the Wingat-1 well, located 15 km East of Murombe-1, is present above the deeper Murombe section. Further analysis will evaluate the quality of this source rock.


The Murombe objective was penetrated and petrophysical evaluation of wireline logs indicates that the interval consists of non-reservoir facies with low porosity.


The semi-submersible Transocean Marianas will be mobilized 635 km to the south to drill the Moosehead-1 well in PEL 24. The Moosehead prospect is located in the Orange basin and will target a carbonate reservoir of Barremian age. The well will be drilled to a total depth of 4,100 meters and is expected to start after concluding activities at the Murombe-1 location.


Galp Energia holds a 14% stake in the consortium that explores three offshore PELs in Namibia, namely PEL 23 in the Walvis basin, and PEL 24 and PEL 28 in the Orange basin, while HRT (operator) holds a stake of 86%, 86% and 77%, in PEL 23, PEL 24 and PEL 28, respectively.

Source: Galp Energia, SGPS, S.A.