Kampala, Uganda | – Uganda’s energy and minerals ministry said Wednesday that oil companies have completed appraisal activities for at least 11 oil fields out of the 21 discoveries, bringing the east African nation closer to the start of commercial crude production. The ministry said that investments in oil exploration and appraisal activities increased to $2.4 billion, higher than the previous estimate of $2 billion, as companies step up efforts to develop the vast oil fields. The completion of appraisal activities is a major step …

London, United Kingdom | – Africa-focused  British  independent explorer Tullow Oil announced Friday that its Shimela-1 well, onshore Ethiopia, had encountered water bearing reservoirs and only traces of thermogenic gas shows were recorded after drilling to a final depth of 1,940 metres. This well, situated in the South Omo basin, near Chew Bahir and named after a common bird in the area, was considered particularly significant for the company’s prospects. As recently as April a report identified the Shimela prospect as the first well in …

London | – Tullow Oil plc, an Irish multinational oil and gas exploration company headquartered in London, United Kingdom reported it did not find hydrocarbons with its Tapendar-1 exploration well drilled in the C-10 license offshore Mauritania. Tullow said it will plug and abandon the well. The objective of Tapendar-1 was to test two targets of Miocene and Upper Cretaceous age. At the Miocene interval a major undrilled turbidite fairway was penetrated and encountered excellent quality, well developed reservoir sands. However, these sands were water-bearing …

London  – Australian independent oil explorer FAR Limited, will participate in the drilling of two deepwater exploration wells offshore Senegal next month. The wells, to be operated by Scottish Cairn Energy Plc, will be the first deepwater wells drilled off Senegal and only the second and third deepwater wells along the central Atlantic margin of West Africa. Cairn will use Transocean Inc.’s Cajun Express  semisubmersible rig  for the two-well program. The rig is currently finishing up a campaign for Cairn offshore Morocco. The first Senegal well, Fan-1, will be …