Springfield Exploration and Production began drilling the Afina-1x well, offshore Ghana, on October 7.
Using the Stena Forth rig, the company became the first indigenous African company to carry out deepwater operations. The rig was previously working in Guyana for Tullow Oil.
“Thanks be to God. We continue to make history!” Springfield’s CEO Kevin Okyere said in a statement.
The well is intended to test the Cenomanian potential on the West Cape Three Points (WCTP) Block 2. This will be followed by a second well, the Oak-1x.
Springfield was awarded the WCTP Block 2 in 2016, covering 673 square km. The company has an 84% stake in the licence, while the remaining equity is held by Ghana National Petroleum Corp. (GNPC) and GNPC’s Explorco subsidiary.
PGS carried out a 3D seismic survey on the block in 2017. The block had previously been part of Kosmos Energy’s West Cape Three Points area but the US company relinquished the acreage, despite finding hydrocarbons in two wells, the Odum-1 and Banda-1.
To the east of WCTP block 2 lies Eni’s Offshore Cape Three Points (OCTP) licence, to the south Aker Energy’s Deepwater Tano Cape Three Points (DWT/CTP) block and to the west the Jubilee field. Afina is being drilled in the east, seeking finds like Eni’s Sankofa discovery, while Oak will be drilled in the south, on trend with the Beech find.
Springfield won a spot on Nigeria’s oil lifting schedule in 2014 and has also lifted crude from Ghana’s Jubilee field.
AGM Petroleum reported it had made an oil discovery at the Kyenkyen-1X well, in Ghana’s South Deepwater Tano block earlier this year, which it followed with the Nyankom-1X. AMNI Petroleum is working on the Central Tano block and has plans to drill a well, which will probably come in 2020. Eni announced the Akoma-1 gas and condensate discovery on CTP block 4 in May and was awarded the WB03 block, in the Tano Basin, in July.