John, I believe they did not drill deeper because they met their objectives with shallow drilling. I am no oil man and this is just my opinion, but I suspect Kina and Bomu will prove to be similar to Akpo.
The Chinese are partners in AKPO; Sinopec most likely had access to the Akpo seismic and drilling results. AKPO is a gas and condensate field and we know from Total's description there was no oil/gas demarcation line due to Akpo's high temperatures and pressure. It is possible Addax and Sinopec just drilled the gas caps to confirm what they suspected after evaluating the seismic data that Kina and Bomu are gas and condensate fields similar to Akpo.
Obviously all of the above is conjecture on my part, but it is consistent with some facts we do know . It explains why drilling for gas rather than oil seems to be a Phase 1 drilling objective. It would explain Totals interest in the JDZ. It would give Total and Qatar's [ one of the worlds largests LNG producers] announced partnership more definition. It would explain Total's announced 20 billion dollar West African investment for "future projects". It could explian the half billion dollar port facility being negotiated for Sao Tome [as well as the rumored LNG and Methanol plants]. It makes the 5 billion dollars ifrastructure deal being negotiated by Dubai more tenable. Why would ERHE need Strand Hanson if the JDZ was a failure?
It could be why there have been no real leaks from the JDA, JMC, Nigerians, Sao Tomeans the last few months. [If the JDZ was a flop they would all be pointing their fingers at one another.] It would be consistent with ERHE's tip toeing around the drilling results. It may be why Leslie Blair is now on the ERHE BOD.
Reporting the initial drilling results as gas gives the Chinese a perfect negotiating position to finalize the JDZ partnership structure and buy out as many of the smaller companies as possible.
Do not forget our Holiday card from the Chinese ERHElongtimer remind us of recently. It is the only official communication from Addax this year. It is a reminder the Chinese are playing with us for their own advantage.
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