Etinde Permit

Overview:

Bowleven operates three shallow blocks in the Etinde Permit area. Bowleven has a 75% equity interest and Vitol E&P Limited has a 25% equity interest in Permit. Located near hydrocarbon-bearing regions on the West African coast including offshore Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea and Angola are blocks MLHP-5, MLHP-6 and MLHP-7. The blocks are located across the Rio del Rey basin (part of the southern margin of the Niger Delta oilfield basin) and the Douala Basin, together referred to as the Etinde Permit. 

The Permit covers approximately 2,316 km². The water depths are shallow, from the shoreline up to approximately 70 metres maximum depth. A production sharing contract was signed over the Permit in December 2008 and the exploration phase extends to December 2012.

In the late 1960s through to the early 1980s, eight wells were drilled in the northern block MLHP-7 by Total Oil (‘‘Total’’), Société Nationale Elf Aquitaine (‘‘Elf’’) and Mobil Corporation (‘‘Mobil’’). These wells discovered reserves of gas and associated condensate in the Isongo Sands.

Bowleven Drilling History:

2004/05: Bowleven drilled three wells in block MLHP-7, one of which was a small gas discovery.

2007: The Group drilled a successful appraisal well on block MLHP-7 (IE-2) and a successful exploration well on block MLHP-5 (D-1r). It also drilled an exploration well on block 7 (IF-1) that had to be abandoned due to well control issues following a significant gas kick.

2008: The first oil discovery on the Permit was made by the Group; the IF-1r well tested an average of 3,371 bopd from the Upper Isongo section.

2010: An appraisal well (IE-3) was drilled on block MLHP-7, successfully encountering oil and firmly establishing block MLHP-7 as having significant liquid oil potential in addition to proven gas condensate resource.

2010 & 2011: Bowleven drilled in the Douala Basin with four wells (Sapele 1, 1-ST, 2 & 3) successfully encountering oil and gas condensate at multiple intervals on block MLHP-5. This led to a considerable improvement in in-place hydrocarbon volume estimates and the Group’s P50 contingent resources increased 39% year on year to 217 mmboe (net). 

Current Focus:

Further appraisal/development activities, including a 2 to 4 well appraisal programme in 2012/13, to make further progress towards development sanction. Pre-FEED for the preferred development concept is ongoing, with FID targeted for 2013.

Bomono Permit

Overview:

Bowleven operates two onshore blocks in the Bomono Permit area. Bowleven has a 100% equity interest in the permit, extending to approximately 2,328 km² in the Douala Basin. The Permit covers the onshore extension of the highly prospective Douala Basin, which is characterised by numerous surface oil seeps but is largely unexplored by modern exploration methods.

During 2011 the Group acquired further 2D seismic on Bomono resulting in the acquisition of 500km² in total. Subsequent processing and interpretation reveals multiple Tertiary and Cretaceous prospects and planning and preparation for drilling activities are underway.

Current Focus:

Bowleven’s first exploration well, subject to rig availability, is planned for the second half of 2012. The Group is also in discussions regarding a farm-out in respect of part of its interest in the Permit.

Former Gabon Assets

Bowleven completed the sale of its Gabon assets, which were deemed non-core, to Perenco SA in March 2012 for net proceeds of $38.6m. The cash generated provided Bowleven with additional working capital to progress activities on its Cameroon acreage.