Project Profile
Location: Lamu coastal basin, in Southern offshore Kenya
Area: 1,275 sq km (L17) and 3,630 sq km (L18)
Water depth: 500m
Start-up year: -
The Block L17/L18 PSC area is located in the Lamu coastal basin, in Southern offshore Kenya. The individual blocks L17 and L18 cover an area of approximately 1,275 and 3,630 km2 respectively and are situated in water depths varying from a few metres along the shoreline up to around 500 metres.
There are several potential source rocks for prospectivity identified in the Cretaceous within the Southern Lamu Basin, including the Permo-Triassic Karoo interval and sections within the Lower to Middle Jurassic. There are also oil seeps in the Lamu Basin and Pemba Island that have been geochemically linked to a Jurassic source, supporting the likelihood that the structures in Block L17/L18 are most likely to be oil bearing. The main reservoir targets are in the Upper Cretaceous although there may be additional potential in clastic reservoirs within the Tertiary sequenced that are also present. The hydrocarbons are expected to have been generated in the deep Pemba trough south of Block L18.
The PSC for L17/L18 had an initial effective date of January 2008. However, a letter dated 3 August 2009 approves the extension of the first exploration period to 24 October 2010. The PSC has an initial exploration period of two years, followed by two additional exploration periods before entering an exploitation phase lasting up to 25 years. The Government retains a 15%, back-in right into successful exploration and contractors are permitted to recover their costs at a rate of 20% per annum from 55% of the production. The government’s share of profit oil ranges from 50% for the first 10,000 bopd to 75% for rates above 100,000 bopd; its share of profit gas ranges from 50% for the first 60 mmcfd to 75% on production above 600 mmcfd. During the first exploration period, the PSC partners were obligated to process available seismic, to acquire 25 geochemical cores and to acquire 1,000km of marine 2D seismic.
During the second exploration period, the partners of the farm-in are obligated to acquire 1,000km of seismic and to drill one exploration well. During the third exploration period, the partners of the farm-in are obligated to acquire 1,250km of seismic and to drill a further two exploration wells. The seismic acquired may be marine, terrestrial or transition-zone seismic. The company has also commenced the acquisition of additional 2D seismic data in the deepwater region of the block and plans to drill one exploration well targeting the coastal play.
Operators:
Octant Energy: Operator with 100% interest (bought from Afren Plc)