According to a press release from Kosmos Energy, the Orca-1 exploration well has made a major gas discovery offshore Mauritania in the BirAllah area.
Rystad Energy has confirmed that this discovery is the “deepest and largest discovery so far this year”. The energy research firm estimates that Orca-1 holds around 1.3bn barrels of oil equivalent (boe) of recoverable resources”.
Kosmos said that the Orca-1 and (previously drilled) Marsouin-1 well have de-risked up to 50 TCF of GIIP (gas initially in place) from the Cenomanian and Albian plays in the BirAllah area. In addition, Kosmos said that this volume is “more than sufficient to support a world-scale LNG project.”
The Orca-1 well is located approximately 125 kilometers offshore Mauritania, the Orca-1 well was drilled in approximately 2,510 meters of water to a total measured depth of around 5,266 meters.
BP is operator and holds a 62% working interest, of offshore Blocks C-6, C-8, C-12 and C-13 in Mauritania, with partners SMHPM (10%) and Kosmos (28%).
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Kosmos, Andrew G. Inglis said, “The Orca-1 well concludes a very strong year for exploration and appraisal in Mauritania and Senegal. Orca-1, which we believe is the largest deepwater hydrocarbon discovery in the world so far this year, further demonstrates the world-scale quality of the Mauritania gas basin. With sufficient resource in place at the BirAllah hub, Kosmos looks forward to working with the Government of Mauritania and its partners to bring benefits to the people of Mauritania through the development of cost competitive, low carbon intensity projects.”