Bright, Fast and Hard Between the Bumps - The Opening of a New Stratigraphic Play Offshore Cameroon

The Etinde permit operated by Bowleven is located in the Cameroon sector of the Gulf of Guinea. Early in 2013 Bowleven opened up a new West African hydrocarbon play in the Rio del Rey basin, following the drilling of exploration/appraisal well IM-5. The primary objective was appraisal of the Miocene aged Middle Isongo structurally closed reservoir already proven to be gas bearing. Additionally, a secondary amplitude driven stratigraphic exploration target, the Intra Isongo, was also penetrated. The well encountered 77m of Intra Isongo hydrocarbon bearing sandstone reservoir. No hydrocarbon contact was encountered. A pre-drill multidisciplinary approach, which enabled the well selection to target both reservoirs in a very narrow overlapping window was adopted. This involved a combination of structural and stratigraphic seismic interpretation and integration of petroacoustic evaluation. Close collaboration with the inhouse drilling team was essential for this ‘narrow margin’ Managed Pressure Drilling (MPD) well. The comprehensive wireline logging suite acquired in the IM-5 well enabled further petroacoustic evaluation, complemented by integration of frequency, and amplitude dependant seismic attributes.

Integration of geophysical and dynamic reservoir data has revealed an Intra Isongo reservoir fairway extending over 40km2. Field appraisal and development planning incorporating these techniques is now underway.