BW Energy, an Oslo-listed oil firm, said Thursday that the drilling of the Hibiscus Extension appraisal well DHIBM-2 in the Dussafu Marin license in Gabon had fallen short of expectations, hitting water instead of oil.
"The primary objective of the well was to test the northern extension of the Gamba Sandstone reservoir of the Hibiscus field, discovered in 2019. Initial findings indicate that the Gamba is water-bearing, instead of containing hydrocarbons," BW Energy said.
"The Borr Norve jack-up continues drilling operations to intersect the secondary targets for the appraisal well in the deeper Dentale Formation. The data acquired from the DHIBM-2 well will later be analyzed and integrated into the larger Dussafu model to further refine the extensive exploration prospect inventory," BW Energy said.
The existing Hibiscus 2P gross recoverable reserves of 46.1 million barrels established by the DHIBM-1 well and its appraisal side-track, drilled in 2019, remain unaffected and will form the core of the upcoming Hibiscus/Ruche development project. Planning for this next phase remains on track, the company said.
BW Energy has started its three-weel offshore drilling campaign in Gabon with the spud of the Hibiscus extension appraisal well in mid-April.
The campaign is a three-well program on the Dussafu license offshore Gabon consisting of two exploration wells in the Hibiscus area and one production well on the Tortue field.
Following the DHIBM-2 well, the rig will move to drill the horizontal production well, DTM-7H, at the Tortue field. The rig will subsequently move to drill the Hibiscus North prospect, located approximately 6 km north-northeast of the DHIBM-1 well.