Aker Energy, operator of the Deepwater Tano Cape Three Points (DWT/CTP) Block, said it has encountered oil in the Pecan South-1A well offshore Ghana.

The well was drilled south of the main Pecan Field in the DWT/CTP block.

“The drilling result is another confirmation of the geological model for the area. The discovered resources from the well will further strengthen the robustness of the Pecan Field development,” Aker Energy CEO Jan Arve Haugan said in the release. “We will now continue the appraisal drilling campaign, while finalizing the plan of development to be submitted by the end of March.”

The company is analyzing the well result and plan to begin additional drilling to verify the volume estimate, which will be in addition to the gross contingent resources from the existing discoveries in the area. The previous estimate was between 450 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe) and 550 MMboe, Aker Energy said in the release.

The drillship Maersk Viking will now drill a sidetrack well in Pecan South to further appraise the volume potential, the company said. The drillship will then relocate to Pecan South East to drill the third well in the ongoing appraisal campaign, the company said.

Based on the Pecan South result and pre-drill estimates of Pecan South East, Aker Energy estimates that the total volumes to be included in a plan of development have the potential to increase to between 600 MMboe and 1,000 MMboe with further upside in the area. The company said it has identified multiple well targets to be drilled as part of a greater area development after it submits the development plan.

Aker Energy has a 50% participating interest in the block. Partners are LUKOIL (38%), the Ghana National Petroleum Corp. (10%) and Fueltrade (2%).

Offshore