Sedco to the rescue: Vanco and Lukoil restart Ghana probe after rig switch.
Vanco and Lukoil swap rigs off Ghana
US explorer Vanco Energy and Russian giant Lukoil restarted a drilling campaign in the Ghanaian section of offshore West Africa after changing rigs.
The partners terminated a contract with the Aban Abraham drillship and began exploring again for oil and gas on 19 October with a Sedco-702 semi-submersible dynamically-positioned rig, Vanco’s Vice President Jeffrey Mitchell said by telephone from Houston.
The pair suspended drilling at Dzata-1 in July almost immediately after starting because the Aban Abraham rig required maintenance, Mitchell said at the time.
The prospect is about 70 miles away from the Jubilee field, a find that has drawn significant interest from oil giants around the world.
Closely held Kosmos Energy LLC said earlier this month it agreed to sell its stake in Jubilee field to US supermajor ExxonMobil, while BP, CNOOC Ltd. and Ghana’s state-run Ghana National Petroleum Company (GNPC) are all reportedly interested in the stake as well.
Lukoil plans to drill three exploration wells offshore Ghana and neighboring Cote d’Ivoire, boss Vagit Alekperov said in April.
Lukoil owns 57% of the Dzata-1 wildcat, with Vanco holding 28%.
GNPC owns the remaining 15% of the venture.