Sao Tome’s oil agency says islands have onshore, offshore reserves [ 2007-07-02 ]
Sao Tome, Sao Tome and Principe, 2 July – Sao Tome’s petroleum authorities have identified 18 offshore areas in the country’s waters as having possible hydrocarbons deposits and say there could also be onshore oil reserves in the archipelago.
The news was announced Friday during an energy seminar organized by the National Petroleum Agency (ANP) on the results of seismic studies carried out in the islands’ exclusive economic zone.
International consultant John Symons, using seismic data findings from Sao Tome’s territorial waters, said there were 18 zones that could contain hydrocarbons in a study that advanced an 8.36 percent probability of finding commercially viable oil deposits.
“There is no certainty, but the probability of finding oil is 8.36 percent in the 18 areas identified,” said Symons, adding that test drilling had reached between 2,400 and 3,000 meters.
The oil experts were unanimous at the seminar over the existence of petroleum in Sao Tome’s waters due to the close proximity of the joint exploration zone with Nigeria, but didn’t rule out failure to develop these resources due to technical questions.
ChevronTexaco said in January it had struck oil in the joint development zone with Nigeria, but not yet in commercially viable amounts.
The ANP’s technical director, Osvaldo Abreu, told the oil seminar that “it is as possible there is oil as there is not, so we need to wait for test drilling to confirm it.”
Sao Tome’s oil authorities plan to launch a licensing round in the islands’ territorial waters in 2008 with assistance from the World Bank, which has offered help in the form of studies carried out by Petroleum Geo Service of Norway and the British Geological Survey (BGS).
Osvaldo Abeu said a “field study” undertaken by BGS last week had indicated there could be onshore oil resources in Sao Tome at a depth of just over 3000,000 meters.
But he added that it would be necessary to make a seismic survey below Sao Tome’s volcanic mantle to confirm whether there are possibilities of discovering onshore hydrocarbons reserves. (macauhub)
