by | Rigzone Staff
Somalilandsun: Independent oil explorer Genel Energy reported Monday that it has agreed to acquire a 40-percent interest in the Adigala Block, onshore Ethiopia.
The deal will see Genel acquire its non-operated stake in the block from New Age (African Global Energy) for an undisclosed payment that will cover back costs and a contribution to the cost of a 2D seismic data acquisition program to take place before the end of 2013.
The Adigala Block covers an area of 10,300 square miles and is located in the northeast of Ethiopia, bordering Djibouti to the north and Somaliland to the east. An existing 320 miles of 2D seismic data was reprocessed in 2012 and augmented by a ‘full tensor gravity’ survey.
Genel said the integration of this data has provided evidence that all the elements of a working petroleum system exist on the Adigala Block. In particular, oil seeps and surface outcrops support the presence of a mature and active Jurassic oil prone system, which is thought to be analogous to the prolific producing Jurassic Rift Basins of Yemen.
Several large potential structural closures have been identified on existing data. The planned 2D seismic and further technical work will help in refining these leads into drill ready prospects, Genel said.
Genel Head of Exploration Dr John Hurst commented in a company statement:
“The Adigala Block farm-in is a natural extension of our exploration strategy, which seeks to acquire material equity positions in hydrocarbon basins with significant potential, as well as complementing our extensive interests onshore Somaliland where drilling is planned for 2014. We look forward to working with our new partners to high-grade the prospectivity on the block and add further depth and materiality to our exploration inventory.”
Source www.rigzone.com
