From Enigmatic Source to Complex Stratigraphic Traps - Unlocking Tanzania’s Hydrocarbon Potential

This paper will focus on the exploration activity that has been conducted in offshore Tanzania’s blocks 1 and 4, providing examples of the diverse trap types that have been tested within a slope depositional system. Slope systems are often viewed as high risk settings for trap presence and effectiveness, however by deploying appropriate geophysical techniques, the increased risk of failure has been successfully mitigated. The paper will also share some of the geochemical observations made in BG’s discovery wells and discuss the connection from hydrocarbon source to slope system stratigraphic trap. The last five years has seen a transformation of the Tanzanian petroleum story from a “hot spot” of frontier exploration potential to a proven hydrocarbon province holding multiple TCF of gas spread across several plays. BG Group and its partners have been instrumental in this transformation. As operator, BG Group has deployed numerous operational and geophysical technologies to enable the safe and efficient delivery of the exploration and appraisal campaign. The subsurface analysis has transformed a high risk slope depositional setting into a highly prospective area of potential LNG feedstock. This exploration activity has delivered sixteen wells with a 100% success rate of encountering hydrocarbons.