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Ethiopia - Petronas Starts Drilling Oil Exploration Well
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Ethiopia - Petronas Starts Drilling Oil Exploration Well
Petronas Starts Drilling Oil Exploration Well
The Reporter (Addis Ababa)
March 10, 2007
By Kaleyesus Bekele
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - Petronas, the Malaysian oil and Gas company, last month started drilling the second oil exploration well in the Gambella basin, in south-western Ethiopia.
In June 2003, Petronas and the Ethiopian Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) signed a petroleum development and production sharing agreement that enables the company to prospect for oil in the Gambella basin. Since 2004, Petronas has been collecting seismic data in the exploration area covering 16,000 sq km of land near the Ethio-Sudanese border. Based on the seismic data, last year Petronas drilled the first exploration well (wild cat well) in a locality called Gigaw.
It took three months to drill the first exploration well, which is 3500m. deep. After finalizing the drilling last May, Petronas conducted an oil test in the first well. But the exploration well turned out to be dry (no oil shown). However, the company discovered sedimentary rocks (source rocks) that generated crude oil. It has been confirmed that the source rocks had generated oil a long time ago. Senior officials of MME told The Reporter that, three weeks ago, Petronas started drilling the second exploration well, some 60 km from the first well. The company spent 16 million dollars to drill the first well.
The second well will have a depth of 3500 m. and it will take three months to finalize the drilling. The Gambella basin is an extension of the oil productive Melut basin in Southern Sudan. Petronas is engaged in oil field development projects in the Sudan. The company is developing 30 percent of the oilfields. In the Sudan, Petronas extracts oil in Chad, Cameroon, Angola, Mozambique and Yemen. The company operates in 14 countries in Africa and in 21 in Asia. Established in 1974, Petronas has 110 subsidiary companies. Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, it is one of the top ten leading international oil companies in the world.
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In addition to Gambella, Petronas took three exploration blocks in the Ogaden basin, in eastern Ethiopia. In August 2005, Petronas acquired exploration areas in Genale, Kelafo, Wel-Wel, Warder and Fer-Fer localities in the Ogaden basin. The total area of the concession is 93,000 sq. km. The company has won the international tender put up by MME for the development of the Calub and Hilala gasfields in the Ogaden basin. Officials of MME and Petronas are finalizing negotiations on the gas development project. The two parties are expected to sign an agreement for the gasfield development project. The natural gas reserve in Calub and Hilala localities, 1200 km-south east of Addis Ababa, is estimated at 113 billion c.m. Petronas has proposed to build a gas processing plant and a gas pipeline all the way from the gasfields to the Port of Djibouti. The company plans to invest 1.9 billion dollars on the project. If the project is realized, Ethiopia, would be a hydrocarbon producing country for the first time.
The gasfields were discovered in 1973 by Tenneco an American petroleum company. Ten wells in Calub and four in Hilala were drilled. Eight of the gas wells in Calub are ready for production. Currently, Petronas is collecting seismic data in the Gunale locality.
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24 comments
"The company plans to invest 1.9 billion dollars on the project."
Let it happen! That would be the biggest investment in Ethiopias history and a venture that can beat the Saudi tycon who is trying to monopolise the market.
encouraging development. i hope it will go as planned. God Bless!!
All screaming in the westrners street by CUD and the useless diaspora will immediately halt and will be asphyxated.
You will see that in the next election, petranos will campain in favour of EPDRF. If you are surprised by Al Amoudin, you will be stunned by Petranos. These guys know who can walk the real walk.
Anyway, I like oil. I hope you fancy it.
cheers,
You stole Hailu Shawel's nick name! "life is a box of Kurt"
Anyways,...I like Oil
give me some oil
"Anyway, I like oil."......python,
Not worry, your 'dimet hod' will not take that much to fill it up, however we are still going to offer you one 'berimel' of gas so that you can snif it, drink it, shower with it and at the end we will help you smoke your 'gisila sigara using lalibela kibrit' while chewing a 'gelemiso' chat.
"Anyways,...I like Oil"......Cheffee,
I know Goitom, what is there in the world a clown hates anyyways? we all know that the world is always full of wonders for clowns and oil is especailly their favourite thing for new tricks thus we will be generous to make an oil pool for ya, Goitom, so that you can perform your swiming and fire breathing tricks in there. how is that sound, Goitom?
It will certainly give more due attention to traditionall neglected regions of Ethiopia -- the Ogaden and the Gambella as well as provide employment opportunities, for. ex. currency, billions of dollars in wealth for Ethiopia and more credit for the Meles Zenawi-Addisu Legesse administration of Ethiopia.
Samuel Gebru
This is clearly a great time to be an Ethiopian! I wouldn't be surprised if other Africans try to pass for Ethiopians in order to bask in its revived glory and progress!
Eat your hearts out, desperate bozenays!
I admire Meles, he has done some visionary things, but he is short sited when it comes to comitment to the true form of democracy. I like what the opposition is doing trying to bring a true democracy to the country, but they seem to oppose every single thing that EPRDF is doing. Neither the government not the opposition have a clear understanding of what democracy is and how it applies to our country, they just push their vision of what democracy should be to the yewah people. The future for our country is not as bright as depicted by EPRDF, nor is it as bleak as painted by the opposition. God will protect Ethiopia for love of the poor yewah people.
"Let's pray for Alah! under his almighty"
YAREB evertying is make easy and good for Ethiopian & Ethiopian
Amean
You said exactly what I think. I always feel that most Ethiopians are narrow-minded and selfish, measuring every move by how it would serve their interests, and at best, the interests of their ethnicity. They lack the essential traits of rationality, trust, motivation and co-operation for shared responsibility. I really fail to see any bright vision for Ethiopia as long as Ethiopians keep behaving this way.
We the people of the Horn are one but we have been divided by politics and colonization. Christians came to the horn of Africa centuries ago and some of the indeginous people became christians and when Islam arrived some became muslims. Religion is the free choise of every human being. One thing is true. If you look at the research conducted by Scientists the genes of Somali, Oromo, Amhara, Tigrey, Afar are the same and none of the Genes is imported from the middle east or europe. So let's respect each other and help one another as good neighbours no matter of religion or tribe.
As somali ethiopian i encourage the development of oil and gas so that my people can get schools, health centers, roads and more development.
At the moment we have none. It is better for my people to have prosperous life instead of walking on the God given resources while they are dying of Hunger. The wealth should be used for the benefit of the local people and then for Ethiopians as a whole.
Somalia is also very rich in oil, uranium and gas. One day the people of the horn of africa will have better future. That is if we think of the future and stop selfish interests.
thanks alot for rhe good comment.
Secondly, If we put the checks and balance in place God given resources will be blessing to our people. At the moment we donot have oil and gas exported and we are killing each other in large numbers never seen before. We have to learn that PULLING THE TRIGER MAKES MOTHERS SHADE TEARS. We have to also know that making a fool go by is not weakness but deep understanding of the true nature of the world. Let's educate our people and give them better health.
One thing is also true. Oil rich countries no matter of their backwardness have better life than we do.
Poverty and ignorance are the number enemies of humanity. Let's get rid of these two and we will prosper.
I have been refugee for the whole of my life since I was 4 yrs old and have seen all types of life. God was always good to me. I carry different types of passports but nothing smells and feels like home. Please advocate for peace and love for our people. I am not emotional but rather a realist. The sad thing is many will always reject the good call. But hopes will always drive us to more greener days.We conducted businesses from Egypt throughout the horn of Africa while other societies were sleeping and our lands were called the LAND OF GODS. Brothers and sisters we can do it again. God bless you all, THE SONS OF THE HORN!!.
thanks alot for rhe good comment.
Secondly, If we put the checks and balance in place God given resources will be blessing to our people. At the moment we donot have oil and gas exported and we are killing each other in large numbers never seen before. We have to learn that PULLING THE TRIGER MAKES MOTHERS SHADE TEARS. We have to also know that making a fool go by is not weakness but deep understanding of the true nature of the world. Let's educate our people and give them better health.
One thing is also true. Oil rich countries no matter of their backwardness have better life than we do.
Poverty and ignorance are the number enemies of humanity. Let's get rid of these two and we will prosper.
I have been refugee for the whole of my life since I was 4 yrs old and have seen all types of life. God was always good to me. I carry different types of passports but nothing smells and feels like home. Please advocate for peace and love for our people. I am not emotional but rather a realist. The sad thing is many will always reject the good call. But hopes will always drive us to more greener days.We conducted businesses from Egypt throughout the horn of Africa while other societies were sleeping and our lands were called the LAND OF GODS. Brothers and sisters we can do it again. God bless you all, THE SONS OF THE HORN!!.
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