Statoil announces new Tanzania gas discovery

Operator Statoil and partner ExxonMobil keep having successes in their exploratory endeavors in Tanzania’s block 2.

The operating company announced a successful discovery in its Piri-1 well on Thursday, the fifth in the block and the latest in a run of 100 percent attainments for exploratory wells in the country since 2012, when the Zafarani-1 well marked the company its first discovery in block 2.

“Since 2012, we have had a 100-percent success rate in Tanzania and the area has become a core exploration area in a very short period of time. We quickly went from drilling one well to a multi-well programme, and with Piri-1 we are continuing the success,” says Nick Maden, senior vice-president for Statoil’s exploration activities in the Western Hemisphere, said in a statement on the company’s website.

The reserves in the block now amount to around 566 bcm (20 tcf) of natural gas. Statoil has an aggressive exploratory strategy for Tanzania’s offshore region with a plan to invest between $20 billion and $30 billion over the next five years, its biggest investment area in the world after Norway.

Statoil owns 65 percent of the license with ExxonMobil taking holding 35 percent. The national oil company TPDC, the legal holder of every license in the country is a non-intervening partner.