Page 17 - AfrOil Week 12 2023

AfrOil NEWS IN BRIEF AfrOil

business new africa bna/IntelliNews

Decom Engineering chop buoyancy options, hot stab integration, blade Sasol’s coal-to-liquids plant in Secunda. The
reverse capability and bespoke customisation results of these three core holes have been tre-
saw used for successful capabilities. It further stated that it was expand- mendous and, in some ways, beyond our expec-
tations. We will follow exploration in this block
ing the C-1 chop saw range with the develop-
retrieval of jumper ment of a new model capable of cutting piping to continue expanding our knowledge of the
infrastructure of up to 46 inches (1,168mm) in sub-surface in this region as we have further
connector offshore DRC diameter. approved sites on which to drill and create fur-
Decom, with bases in Aberdeen and Belfast, ther extensions to the huge gas fairway already
Decom Engineering, a UK-based firm that spe- is a leading R&D specialist in the design and proven.”
cialises in research and development for decom- fabrication of innovative decommissioning Gas Intersects: Core well 270-05C is cur-
missioning equipment and cutting solutions, equipment and cutting solutions. The company’s rently coring at below 350 metres, having
announced on March 23 that its advanced cut- technology has been used in decommissioning drilled through anticipated stratigraphy. Initial
ting technology had been successfully used on a projects worldwide, and its expertise in this field gas indications were encountered as shallow
project off the coast of the Democratic Republic has led it to serve as a partner for multiple major as 40 metres until top of first dolerite cap at 68
of Congo (DRC). oil and gas operators and contractors. metres. Then again from 175 metres gas was sig-
In a statement, Decom noted that the project bna/IntelliNews, 27 March 2023 nificantly observed from zones within the cores
had been carried out on behalf of TotalEnergies until a second dolerite layer was encountered at
(France) in the Gulf of Guinea at a field in the Kinetiko Energy provides 287 metres, through which the Company is still
DRC’s offshore zone. It did not identify the field drilling.
by name but said that its C1-24 chop saw had update on exploration and The Company is aware, from aeromagnetic
been deployed in water depths of up to 1,050 and gravimetry surveys, that the dolerite sill
metres as part of an effort to recover a jumper production activities undulates and, in some cases like this one, cre-
connector at the site. ates multiple caps. However, recent and historic
The scope of work included cutting an insu- Kinetiko Energy, an Australian gas explorer and drilling gives the Company confidence that
lated 6-inch (152mm) Duplex flowline at each developer focused on advanced shallow con- thicker cumulative sills can mean a combination
end of the jumper, the company said. It stated ventional gas in South Africa, has provided an of shallow and deeper sands and therefore the
that the chop saw had been deployed by a update on its onshore exploration and produc- terminal depth (and potential associated gas pay
remotely operated vehicle (ROV) with hot stab tion development activities. cut in the profile) of this core hole could be simi-
capability and using a tungsten carbon tip blade Core well 270-05C spudded in March 2023 lar to recent core holes (270-03C – 158 metres of
with an average cutting time of 75 minutes. approximately 10km from South Africa’s largest gas-bearing sediments) with a similar terminal
According to previous reports, this is the first gas pipeline, the Lily Pipeline, which feeds the depth.
time the company has been engaged by this par- industries of the KwaZulu-Natal midlands and Ongoing Exploration Success: The Company
ticular operator. coastal cities. has now encountered significant gassy inter-
Decom did not divulge many details of the The core hole started encountering inter- sects on all three of its recent core wells drilled in
project, but it said it had performed similar oper- mittent gassy zones from a depth of 175m with exploration right 270. These core well sites were
ations in other countries. “The [DRC] project strong visible gas emissions observed from core strategically selected to optimise the potential to
follows other successful workscopes on behalf samples at depths below 220m with drilling con- interface with existing energy infrastructure and
of major oil and gas operators and contractors, tinuing. (Figure 1) regional gas off takers. The consistent favourable
including workscopes in the North Sea, Mauri- Kinetiko CEO Nick de Blocq commented: exploration results have grown the Company’s
tania, Norway, and Gulf of Thailand,” it said in “Core hole 270-03C is the third of three sites we confidence that the regional geology surround-
the statement. have planned in the current coring programme. ing the three core wells is consistent and has
The company went on to note that its C-1 This will conclude our commitment work scope the potential to host multiple production well
chop saw range was certified for use in water in this block prior to focusing our attention on clusters.
depths of up to 2,000 metres and had multiple as-yet undrilled Block ER 272, which connects Kinetiko Energy, 29 March 2023

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