Eco Atlantic receives government approval to drill Namibia's Cooper Block
LONDON -- Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas Ltd., an oil exploration focused company with licenses in the highly prospective regions of offshore Guyana and in the Walvis basin offshore Namibia, has updated the market on its PEL 30 Block (Cooper Block) in Namibia. The Company announces today that it has received the necessary final Environmental Clearance Certificate to drill an exploration well on this highly prospective block from the Namibia Ministry of Environment and Tourism.
The Company has completed seven years of exploration on the Cooper Block, including regional geological studies, fracture analysis, slick studies, the review and interpretation of 5,000 km2 of 2D and an 1,100 km2 3D Survey. In addition to its own ongoing interpretation, Eco has also contracted independent studies from Petroleum Geo-Services, Azinam Ltd., Tullow Oil plc and Gustavson Associates.
Eco and its partners have identified the "Osprey" prospect on the Cooper Block, an 882-MMbbl Aptian/Albian target within a sand filled channel and fan system in the Cretaceous sequence. The prospect is estimated to contain as much as 882 MMboe (Gross Prospective - Best). The licence partners on the Cooper Block continue to contribute their own independent analysis and to work towards determining an exact location for the drilling of an exploration well on the "Osprey" prospect.
Activity in the Walvis basin
The Company continues to monitor activity in the acreage surrounding Eco's licence interests offshore Namibia and gathering information from the current drilling activity in the region. We note that, upon completion of the Plug and Abandonment of the Cormorant-1 drilled by Tullow Oil plc on licence area PEL 37 in the Walvis Basis, the drill rig used of the Comorant-1 will move to license area PEL 71, which is operated by Chariot Oil & Gas Limited (partnered with Azinam Ltd. and NAMCOR).
The Prospect S well to be drilled by the rig on PEL 37 will test the southern margins of the Walvis Basin and its potential for an additional second source rock. Eco holds an 80% interest in the Tamar Block (PEL 50), covering 7,500 km2 adjacent to PEL 71, and is considering the same channel and fan systems that lead on to PEL 50. Accordingly, the Company will monitor the results of the well on PEL 71 and will further analyse them once the well has been completed.
