E&P company BW Energy announced its DHBSM-1 appraisal well found commercial volumes of oil in the Hibiscus South satellite prospect offshore Gabon, according to a Nov. 6 release. The company plans to return to the well to complete it as a production well early next year.

The release stated that the DHBSM-1 well was drilled by the Borr Norve jackup rig from the MaBoMo offshore production platform to a total depth of 6,002 m. The approximate target area is 5 km southwest of MaBoMo.

According to evaluation of logging data, sample examination and formation pressure measurements, the company said the discovery included approximately 20 m of pay in an overall hydrocarbon column of 26.5 m in the Gamba Formation.

The well data confirms that Hibiscus South’s structure is a separate accumulation with a deeper oil-water contrat than the nearby Hibiscus Field. BW noted that this allows them to book reserves outside of what is included in their annual statement of reserves and gives them room to drill one or more additional production wells from the MaBoMo facility.

Preliminary evaluation indicates gross recoverable reserves of 6 MMbbl to 7 MMbbl of oil with approximately 16 MMbbl of oil in place — in line with mid-case pre-drill expectations reported prior to the drilling operation’s commencement, according to the release.

“The successful appraisal of the Hibiscus South satellite structure represents a low-cost and low-risk expansion of the Dussafu production and reserve base,” said Carl K. Arnet, BW Energy’s CEO. “We look forward to rapidly bringing these high-value barrels into production. The result also confirms the significant potential of the Dussafu licence where we have multiple additional future prospects.”