Tanzania Strikes Another Offshore Gas Field

BG Tanzania announced that it had completed another successful drill stem test in offshore Tanzania about 45-kms from Mtwara, with tests on the Mzia-2 well flowing at a maximum rate of 57 million standard cubic feet (mscf) of natural gas per day.

"This is more gas than was expected to flow from this well and therefore a positive development. A drill stem test is a standard procedure within gas exploration activities and helps to determine the properties of the gas reservoir," BG Group Chief Executive Chris Finlayson, said in a statement.

He added: "The successful Mzia-2 drill stem test follows completion of a multi-well appraisal programme earlier this year on the nearby Jodari field." The CEO said while the company continues exploration and appraisal offshore, BG Group and its partners are also jointly studying suitable sites for a potential onshore Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal and anticipate providing proposed locations to the government in the next few months.

An LNG plant is required to commercialise the gas finds, so Tanzania can fully benefit from its natural gas wealth. The BG Group President and Asset General Manager for East Africa, Derek Hudson, said the successful drill stem test on Mzia-2 is another important milestone in developing Tanzania's natural gas resources, coming less than 12 months after the original Mzia discovery.

"This swift progress reflects the commitment of all stakeholders, particularly the government and the communities in which we operate, to ensuring the full benefits of the country's natural gas resources are realised," he said. Mzia-2 is four kilometres from the Mzia-1 discovery, in around 1,620 metres of water and approximately 45 kilometres off the coast of southern Tanzania.

It is approximately 22 kilometres to the north of the Jodari-1 discovery well also in Block 1, where a successful drill stem test was completed in March. The drillship Deepsea Metro-1 has now relocated to Block 4 to drill an exploration well, Ngisi-1, adjacent to the existing Pweza and Chewa discoveries.

BG Group will use data from the current exploration and appraisal campaign and a recently completed 3-D seismic survey to help identify new offshore targets for a third exploration programme beginning in late 2013. Prior to Mzia-2, BG Tanzania has had seven consecutive natural gas discoveries, two successful appraisal wells and a successful test on the Jodari field. source Allafrica .com

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