Ophir Energy’s (LON:OPHR) latest well in Tanzania has beaten expectations, with both appraisal and exploration success.
The Ngisi well followed up the 2010 Chewa gas discovery, and it also included two side tracks. Both objectives were successfully achieved.
As a result, the African oil explorer has increased its estimate of recoverable resources for the project to 4.5tn cubic feet of gas, up from 3.7tn cubic feet.
It is expected that the gas discovery will contribute to the large liquefied natural gas (LNG) project being developed in Tanzania.
The positive result also means several nearby exploration targets have now been de-risked, Ophir said.
The company will now drill the Mkizi-1 exploration well, and after that it will drill an appraisal well for the Pweza discovery.
"The successful Ngisi drilling results provide critical mass for the aggregation and development of the gas discoveries in Block 4. These will be piped ashore and combined with the Block 1 resources for Tanzania's LNG development."