Nigeria's 19 exploratory/appraisal well failures.......... Folks on this board sometimes talk about the possibility of drilling a duster. I thought I would post this article just for info. Article basically says that between 1995 and 2005, 60 deep water wells were drilled, 19 were failures. So that's about 33%.
ND9
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February 27th, 2006
Nigeria’s deepwater oil exploration gulps $3bn in 10 years
Oil exploratory activities in Nigeria’s deepwater gulped a total of $3 billion between 1995 and 2005. The country also recorded 19 failures from over 60 exploratory/appraisal wells drilled in the same period.
Olusola Bello and Ejiofor Alike
These revelations were made during the monthly Technical meeting of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists held in Lagos.
In a paper titled; "The Performance of deepwater Exploration; NAPIMS Perspectives’’, the General Manager, Deepwater, Abiye Membere, who stood in for the Group General Manager , National Petroleum Investment and Management Sservices (NAPIMS) George Osahon, attributed the failures in deepwater exploration to complex geology, depth of hydrocarbon- bearing sands and lack of charge. He noted that the oil industry recorded 11 major deepwater discoveries mega finds between 1996 and 2004, with a success ratio exceeding 80 percent in the areas of signature bonuses , seismic acquisition, number of wells drilled and reserve growth. Nigeria , according to him, contributes 13 per cent of the total figure of 24 per cent which the West African sub-region contributes to the world’s deepwater reserve. He pointed out that despite the fact that oil, which constitutes 33 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product { GDP},75-80 per cent of the government budget and 95 per cent of export earnings, was discovered in commercial quantities in Oloibiri in the present Bayelsa State by Shell in 1956, deepwater initiatives commenced only in 1990 while actual production began in 1993.
The petroleum scientist also disclosed that over five billion barrels of recoverable oil reserves had been discovered while five fields were at various stages of development. He stated that out of 61 oil blocks allocated under the 2005 Licensing Round , 13 blocks were in deepwater. He stressed the need for the country to meet the target of 40 billion barrels deepwater reserve base by 2010 so as to maintain her position as a global energy player.
Petroleum experts who spoke at the occasion were worried that deepwater oil production exceeds oil discoveries while expenditure also exceeds earnings. They observed that Nigeria’s reserve to production ratio is the lowest among the Oil Producing and Exporting Countries {OPEC},describing the 40 billion barrels deepwater reserve target by 2010 as unrealistic,in view of a myriad of problems plaguing the industry including ,the Niger Delta crisis. They, therefore, stressed the need for conservation,arguing that it is only in Nigeria that every influential family is allocated an oil block.
Oil revenue, according to most contributors, should be judiciously utilised for the benefit of the future generation. They advised the government to emulate Norway who keeps money in banks for her future generation. Students from various institutions of higher learning in Nigeria who distinguished themselves in various fields of academics received financial awards at the occasion.
