Tuesday, January 22, 2008

OIL - DRILLING STARTS SUNDAY • To pave way for commercial production

January 18, 2008 (Lead Story)

ANOTHER oil rig, Songa Saturn, arrived in the territorial waters of Ghana Wednesday morning to drill a second well and pave the way for the commercial production of oil in Ghana. It is expected to be in the deep waters of Cape Three Points in the Western Region, where the well is to be drilled, today.
The rig, which was brought in by Kosmos Energy Ghana Limited, the explorers, will start drilling in the Odum Prospect on Sunday.
The Songa Saturn has arrived after the discovery of large deposits of oil in Ghana by Bedford Dolphin, the first rig that made the discovery for Kosmos Energy Ghana. Bedford Dolphin had been in operation for seven years but the discovery in Ghana was its first success story.
Songa Saturn, which arrived from Equatorial Guinea, is a deep-water floating drilling rig and it is expected to leave for Libya after a three-month expedition in Ghana.
It is estimated that contracts for operational services and goods will cost about $1 million per day, with the rig accounting for the largest item of the cost during the three months that it will be employed in Ghana.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic, the Country Manager of Kosmos Energy, Mr George Yaw Owusu, said the company recently completed an appraisal of the Mahogany Field it discovered in June 2007 at the cost of $27 million.
He said Kosmos Energy would invest US$100 million to drill and evaluate six additional wells, including the Odum well, by the close of the year.
According to Mr Owusu, four additional wells would be drilled, beginning from the second quarter of this year.
He said the drilling of the appraisal wells would pave the way for production activities as soon as possible.
The Managing Director of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Mr M. O. Boateng, expressed the hope that more companies would invest in the petroleum sector for the growth and development of the country.
Kosmos Energy, which discovered oil in commercial quantities off Cape Three Points in June 2007, is expected to drill a total of six wells by the end of the year.
The discovery was announced to the nation by President J.A. Kufuor in June 2007. Experts say the oil discovered by Kosmos is of premium quality and one of the best in the world.
In a related development, Kosmos Energy has been named the Explorer of the Year 2007 in recognition of its discovery by the World Junior Oil and Gas Congress based in the United Kingdom.
The Senior Vice-President of Kosmos Energy, Mr Paul Dailly, received the award on behalf of the Kosmos Team in London recently.
The World Junior Oil and Gas Congress awards the outstanding achievements of leaders, innovators and pioneers in the junior oil and gas industry around the globe.

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