Key Points
- Panoro Energy completed an eight-well drilling campaign at Dussafu, boosting production and addressing earlier oil discoveries.
- Dussafu’s Q3 production averaged 27,465 bopd, the highest since 2018, as the company aims for 40,000 bopd by year-end.
- Future plans include testing the Bourdon prospect in early 2025, with significant estimated recoverable reserves of 29 million barrels.
Panoro Energy’s CEO, John Hamilton, has announced the successful completion of an expanded eight-well drilling campaign at the Dussafu block in Gabon, a move aimed at accelerating the development of significant oil discoveries made earlier this year.
According to Oil Review Africa, this aggressive drilling initiative has seen five new wells brought online, joining six pre-existing wells in the Tortue field. The company is now on track to meet its ambitious gross production target of 40,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) from the Dussafu block.
Hamilton emphasized that the immediate priority is to transition all new wells to conventional electric submersible pump (ESP) systems and to restore three shut-in wells to production.
Strategic exploration plans
Following the completion of these upgrades, Panoro will shift its focus to drilling the promising Bourdon prospect, aligning with its infrastructure-led exploration and appraisal strategy to exploit untapped potential within the block.
In the third quarter of 2024, Dussafu’s gross production soared to an average of 27,465 bopd, marking the highest quarterly output since production commenced in 2018. The company’s latest half-year report indicated that its group working interest production from Gabon reached 4,030 bopd.
Successful well completion boosts production
In October, the DHIBM-7H well brought the newly discovered Hibiscus North Flank into production. Equipped with a conventional ESP system, this well has performed as expected, boosting the block’s output.
The DHIBM-7H well also marked the end of the current Dussafu campaign phase, adding eight production wells in the Hibiscus/Ruche area. This expansion has increased gross 2P reserves by an estimated 23.1 million barrels.
The Borr Norve jack-up rig is set to undertake an ESP replacement program on selected existing wells, with all necessary ESP systems and spares already secured. Panoro anticipates that these enhancements will enable Dussafu to achieve its targeted production of 40,000 bopd by year-end.
Bourdon prospect
As it eyes the future, Panoro plans to test the Bourdon prospect—estimated to have mid-case potential of 83 million barrels in place and 29 million barrels recoverable from the Gamba and Dentale formations—early in 2025, marking the final operation under the current rig contract.
With a robust pipeline of projects and a clear focus on production expansion, Panoro Energy is poised to solidify its footprint in West Africa’s offshore oil landscape.
