Lekoil begins 3D seismic test in OPL 310 offshore Nigeria

London-listed Lekoil, an oil and gas exploration and development company with a focus on Nigeria and West Africa, says 3D seismic programme has begun in Oil Prospecting License (OPL) 310, which contains the Ogo discovery announced last year.

The company in an update on activities in OPL 310 published on its website on Thursday, said the Polarcus vessel MV POLARCUS NADIA has commenced the 3D seismic programme, designed by the partners in OPL 310 – Lekoil, Afren and Optimum Petroleum Development -located adjacent to the Lagos shoreline.

The 3D programme will cover an area of about 1,505 sq kms, representing about 80 percent of the acreage within OPL 310.

It said current 3D data cover about 20 percent of OPL 310 and was used, along with 2D and electromagnetic data to define prospectivity ahead of the drilling of the Ogo-1 and Ogo-1 sidetrack well in the second half of 2013. It is anticipated by the partners that the new acquisition will be completed in Q2 2014.

Lekan Akinyanmi, Lekoil’s chief executive officer, said the survey would cover almost the whole of OPL 310, including the provision of better resolution on the area covered by the original 3D over 15 years ago.

“The survey will provide key data that will enable us to refine and de-risk the other prospects in the block that were identified by dated regional 2D. It will also provide valuable reservoir characterisation and definition information. This is the first phase of an active programme in 2014 that will culminate in an appraisal well later in the year. We are excited about the potential of the licence and look forward to the results of the data acquisition,” he said.

According to the statement, following completion of the 3D acquisition, processing and evaluation, the partners will use the data to high grade and de-risk opportunities in the OPL 310 acreage surrounding the Ogo discovery.

The partners intend to drill an appraisal well on Ogo in the second half of 2014, ahead of development planning, said Lekoil.

In June, 2013, the company announced that the high impact Ogo-1 well located on the OPL 310 had discovered a significant light oil accumulation, based on the results of drilling and wireline logs.

FEMI ASU