November 2020 Edition

NIGERIAN OIL&GAS
INDUSTRY REPORT
A REVIEW OF ACTIVITIES IN THE NIGERIAN OIL & GAS SPACE (Q3-2020)
COURTESY AFRICAN OIL + GAS REPORT
KOLMANI RIVER-3 IS CLOSE TO TOTAL DEPTH
The rig “IKENGA RIG 101” was drilling
the 81/2-inch hole at 11,5000 feet in
Kolmani River-3, as of the week of
August 17, 2020. It is the second of
the multiwell campaign by the
N i g e r i a n N a t i o n a l P e t ro l e u m
Corporation (NNPC) in the Gongola
Basin. The well was spud in April 2020
and is planned to drill to 13,250 feet
True Vertical Depth (TVD). Kolmani
River-3 is testing some of the zones
that encountered hydrocarbon in
Kolmani River-2, as well as other
entirely different accumulations,
impeccable sources tell Africa
O i l + G a s R e p o r t .
As with the earlier probe, the drilling
conditions had been tough. The hole
claimed six PDC bits in the 121/2-inch
hole. NNPC, the state hydrocarbon
firm, has kept a tight lid on the results
of subsurface evaluation in the probe.
Even personnel of Etihad Oilfield
Services, which is providing turnkey
services for the probe, are not allowed
to know.
For nine (9) months in 2019, NNPC
drilled Kolmani River -2, an appraisal
of Kolmani River-1, Shell's 1999 gas
discovery, to a total depth of 13,701
feet. The company declared that it
encountered “significant” oil and gas
in several levels, adding that “a Drill
Stem Test (DST) was going to confirm
the commercial viability and flow of
the Kolmani River reservoirs”. NNPC
added that “Preliminary reports
indicate that the discovery consists of
gas, condensate and light sweet oil of
API gravity ranging from 38o to 41o
found in stacked siliciclastic
cretaceous reservoirs of Yolde, Bima
S a n d s t o n e a n d P r e - B i m a
formations”. The result of the drill
stem test was never announced. Nor
has there been information as to
whether Kolmani River-2 was plugged
and abandoned, or suspended
CHINESE JACK UP RIG CURED OF ITS COVID-19 CASES
The Sinopec owned and operated
jack up rig, New Sheng-Li-1 has restarted
operations on the EA field
offshore the Central Niger Delta. The
six-year-old rig, built by CMC Raffles,
was drilling for Shell Nigeria when it
was shut down due to the realization
that scores of workers had tested
positive for COVID-19. Over 60
N i g e r i a n w o r k e r s w h o w e r e
a s y m p t o m a t i c a n d s o m e
symptomatic Chinese onboard tested
positive. The rig effectively became
an isolation center, as “those who
tested negative have been moved out
while those who tested positive
remain on board and are being
monitored and released as they turn
negative”, a top manager at the
NNPC, the state hydrocarbon
company, confirmed to Africa
Oil+Gas Report, last June. “But now
everything is clear and drilling activity
has resumed”.
NAPENEWS | NOVEMBER 2020 | 13