VAALCO Energy announced the successful drilling of the North Tchibala 2H-ST well that was drilled from the Southeast Etame North Tchibala (SEENT) platform in the Etame field, offshore Gabon. Additionally, the Company provided an operational update on the Teli Floating Storage and Offloading vessel (FSO) installation and field reconfiguration at Etame.

Drilling and Completion Highlights

The well was successfully drilled and cemented by 9-5/8-inch casing string with multiple potentially productive sands in the Dentale 18/19 pay zones behind casing, encountering nearly 100 meters of gross Dentale pay sands (72 meters net), exceeding expectations;

The Dentale 18/19 sands initially targeted for production in this well are analogous to Dentale sands previously productive in the North Tchibala field, with similar porosity and permeability. An Additional Dentale sands were encountered in the wellbore that can be targeted for testing and production in the future.

VAALCO is Preparing to complete the North Tchibala 2H-ST well utilizing a fracture stimulation vessel that will provide support with multiple stimulation and frac-pack operations and this will be Followed by clean up and stabilization of flow rate, VAALCO expects a stable flow rate by the end of October.

FSO and Field Reconfiguration Highlights

Teli FSO has been permanently moored in position and final connections of the production risers that will deliver oil to the Teli from the Etame Platform are in progress

VAALCO has Disconnected and rerouted all except two production lines to the Petroleo Nautipa Floating Production, Storage and Offloading unit (FPSO) preparing for decommissioning, demobilization and retirement of service of the FPSO as planned;

The company has installed over 90% of the approximately 5,100 meters of new subsea, flexible pipe for the reconfiguration of the Etame field. This include Installation of all new structural deck extensions at the Etame platform and all equipment packages required for first oil, allowing the Etame platform to serve as the central processing hub for the Etame field once reconfiguration is complete.

VAALCO is expected to complete  all FSO and first oil field reconfiguration activities in the first week of October 2022.

“With the successful drilling of the North Tchibala 2H-ST well that encountered multiple Dentale sands in the wellbore, we are proceeding with completion and fracing in the Dentale 18/19 interval. We expect to have a stabilized flow rate by the end of October, and we are very encouraged with the nearly 100 meters of gross pay sands we encountered during drilling, which exceeded our internal expectations. Once on production, we expect to add new reserves from the 2H-ST well, some of which were not previously in our 2P reserve base. The positive results from this well give us increasing confidence in targeting the Dentale sand for production at Etame in addition to the Gamba – thereby further increasing the production runway from this high-quality field.” “Additionally, the FSO hookup and Etame full field reconfiguration are proceeding as planned and we currently expect to have the project completed in October. The new FSO provides us with additional flexibility and has an effective capacity for storage that is 50% larger than our current FPSO. It also reduces our expected storage and offloading costs by 50% which should lead to an extension of the economic field life, resulting in a corresponding increase in recovery and reserves at Etame. We continue to execute on our strategy and remain focused on generating meaningful free cash flow to enhance shareholder value,” Ge.orge Maxwell, VAALCO’s Chief Executive Officer, commented.