Oil and gas company Vaalco has said it has completed the acquisition of nearly 1,000 square kilometers of new dual-azimuth 3-D seismic data over the entire Etame Marin block, offshore Gabon.
Vaalco will use the data to optimize and de-risk future drilling locations and potentially identify new drilling locations.
The company said that the operation enhances sub-surface imaging by merging legacy data with newly acquired seismic allowing for the first continuous 3-D seismic over the entire block.
The company estimates the total costs of both the acquisition and processing of seismic data to be approximately $14 to $16 million gross over the period from Q4 2020 through Q4 2021 and Vaalco expects to fully fund its portion with cash on hand and cash from operations.
Processing of the seismic data expected to begin in January 2021 with all data expected to be fully processed and analyzed by Q4 2021, and planning for the start of the next drilling campaign at Etame in late 2021 or early 2022.
Cary Bounds, Vaalco Chief Executive Officer, said: "We are very pleased to have completed the acquisition of our new proprietary 3-D seismic survey over our entire Etame Marin Block. We will now proceed with the processing and analysis of the data that has been collected.
"Over the past 20 years, we have capitalized on the significant resource potential at Etame by increasing the ultimate recovery from the initial estimate of 30 million gross barrels of oil to 147 million gross barrels of oil on a 2P basis.
"Looking ahead, our new 3-D seismic survey is a vital tool in helping us unlock the remaining 116 million gross barrels of oil reserves and resources identified on the license. The new seismic data will help us to optimize every location that we plan to drill and potentially identify new locations to add to our drillable inventory. Additionally, our recent announcement of the acquisition of Sasol's interest at Etame combined with the new 3-D seismic survey underscore our confidence in the long-term potential at Etame."