Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas Ltd said its drill rig has arrived at the site of the Gazania-1 exploration well offshore South Africa ahead of spudding.
Gazania-1 is being drilled to a depth of approximately 2,800 metres through a multizone pay section and up-dip of the AJ-1 discovery well that proved approximately 50mln barrels of contingent resources.
Eco holds a 50% working interest (WI) in Block 2B, which contains the Gazania prospect, and is the operator for the drilling of the well.
Gazania-1, approximately 25km offshore the Northern Cape in Orange Basin South Africa and in approximately 150 metres of water, is targeting a prospect of 300mln barrels of light oil.
If there is a discovery in the vertical section there is an option to drill a sidetrack from the main well bore.
Eco Atlantic's partners in Block 2B are Africa Energy (27.5% WI), Panoro Energy (12.5% WI) and Crown Energy (10% WI).
Colin Kinley, Eco’s chief operating officer, said: "Drilling Gazania-1 offers a significant opportunity to South Africa to open up the Orange Basin.
“A number of prior discoveries in the region are changing the understanding of this Basin both in South Africa and Namibia where recent multi-billion-barrel discoveries have opened the gate to a new era of economic and resource opportunity.
“The discovery at AJ-1 is extremely helpful in creating the opportunity on the Gazaina-1 well that we are confident that the decades of science will prove out.
"This well is being drilled to define the opportunity and the initial path in the Basin. We are drilling this strictly as an exploration well. Once we have defined the resources here, South Africa and the JV partners will make its choices and we will determine the next stage of development.”