Tullow’s Kenya wildcat hits pay

Tullow oil reported encouraging results from the Cheptuket-1 well tests in northern Kenya on Wednesday. Part of an effort to test the Kerio Valley Basin for active petroleum systems, the well was drilled to 3,083 m.

“Encountering strong oil shows across such a large interval is very encouraging indeed,” exploration director Angus McCoss said in a statement, calling the find “the most significant well result to date in Kenya outside the South Lokichar Basin.”

Using the PR Marriot Rig-46, Cheptuket-1 was drilled in the Kerio Valley Basin’s southwestern section and aimed at testing a structural closure there. The positive wildcat results follow the success of the Etom-2 well, which hit a 102m payzone in northern Kenya in December 2015.

Additional exploration activity is under evaluation, the company said, with post-well analysis underway. “The team are already working on our follow-up exploration plans for the Kerio Valley Basin,” McCoss commented.