Tullow comes up dry off Suriname

Oil and gas company Tullow Oil has failed to make a commercial discovery at its Araku-1 well, offshore Suriname.

The Araku-1 exploration well in Suriname has been drilled to a total depth of 2,685 meters and penetrated the objectives of the Araku prospect, Tullow informed on Friday.

The company further said that no significant reservoir quality rocks were encountered although logging and sampling proved the presence of gas condensate. The well is now being plugged and abandoned. Important geological insights gained from this well, in combination with high quality 3D seismic data, have de-risked deeper plays which offer significant future exploration potential in the acreage.

The Araku well was drilled in Block 54 in water depths of approximately 1,000 meters using the Noble Bob Douglas drillship. Tullow Oil operates Block 54 with a 30% interest alongside joint venture partners, Statoil (50% interest) and Noble Energy (20% interest).

Angus McCoss, Exploration Director, commented today: “The Araku-1 well was an ambitious wildcat exploration well that was drilled efficiently and at very low cost. While we have not made a commercial discovery, we are encouraged by recovering gas condensate from the well and remain fully committed to exploration in Suriname and Guyana. Tullow continues to pursue the considerable prospectivity and potential of this large licence and the wider region. We will now consider our next steps with our Joint Venture partners.”