The explorer said on Wednesday that drilling operations have begun on the Mlinzi Mbali-1 probe in Block 7, located offshore about 210 kilometres east of Dar es Salaam.
Under a rig-sharing agreement with UK-based BG Group, Ophir is using the drillship Deepsea Metro I to drill the well in a water depth of about 2600 metres.
Mlinzi Mbali-1 is the first well to be drilled on Block 7 and is targeting a structural crest within a Lower Cretaceous channel complex that has the potential to hold prospective gas resources of 10 Tcf.
