Cairn spuds SNE appraisal offshore Senegal

UK independent Cairn Energy has spud an appraisal well on its SNE discovery offshore Senegal, joint venture partner Far said on Thursday. The SNE-2 well is being drilled by drillship Ocean Rig Athena leased by Greece’s Ocean Rig, and is expected to reach a depth of 2,770 metres over the course of five weeks.

The SNE-2 is part of a three-year evaluation programme that follows from the SNE-1 discovery made by Cairn in 2014. The plan calls for three wells with the potential for an additional three wells. Earlier in the week, Far announced topside drilling had begun on the second planned appraisal well, the SNE-3, to increase operational efficiency at SNE-2. Cairn will re-enter SNE-3 upon completion of SNE-2 in late 2015. The third planned well, BEL-1, will target the Bellatrix prospect at the northern end of the SNE field, and is expected to be completed by mid-2016.

The SNE discovery lies at a water depth of around 1,100 metres and is located 100 kilometres offshore Senegal. The SNE wells are targeting initial estimated reserves of 200 million barrels of oil, while the BEL-1 well is targeting 168 million barrels of oil as part of a future satellite tieback plan.

The project is a joint venture between Cairn, which holds a 40-percent operating interest, together with ConocoPhillips (35-percent), Australian independent Far (15-percent) and Senegal’s state-run Petrosen (10-percent).