Oil exploration group Tullow Oil said on Tuesday that it had made an oil discovery following exploration of the Erut-1 well in northern Kenya. In a note, broker Davy said the find "is an incremental positive for the group".
Tullow said it had found a gross oil interval of 55m with 25m of net oil pay at a depth of 700m. The overall oil column for the field is considered to be 100-150m.
Tullow exploration director Angus McCoss said the find proved oil had migrated to the northern limit of the South Lokichar Basin.
“This extends the known hydrocarbon limits of the basin beyond the successful Etom discovery into the underexplored northern part of the basin where we have several undrilled prospects,” he said.
“Following the scheduled appraisal wells at Amosing-6 and Ngamia-10, further exploration drilling of this area is now being planned.”
Last week, Tullow chief executive Aidan Heavey, who founded the exploration company in 1985, said he would step down this year.
“I’ve been looking forward to giving up the executive role for quite a while,” he said. “This is the perfect time.”
