Kenya–based Bahari Resources and partner Discover Exploration are aiming to drill on their three-block licence off the western Comoros in the Indian Ocean as early as next year, having just entered the second exploration period in late March.

Private equity-backed Anglo-Irish explorer Discover holds 60% of the blocks, with original licence-holder Bahari — owned by Perth-based Calima Energy — retaining a 40% operating stake.

Discover’s co-founder and chief operating officer Alexander Mollinger said the original aim was to drill later this year, but there is no rush because only one commitment well is required for all three blocks combined and this does not have to be drilled until 2021 .

Nevertheless, the partners aim to spud next year or early 2021 at the latest.

“Now that Calima is on board and following our acquisition last week of major North Sea player Hansa Hydrocarbons, we’re all fully funded to prove up Comoros,” said Mollinger.

The Comoran acreage spans blocks 35, 36 and 37, north of the Mozambique Channel.

The drilling targets are in the shallower Eocene and the deeper Cenomanian layers.

Mollinger said the two objectives are “partially overlapping, so we can test both with one vertical well, most likely in the centrally located Block 36”.

The pre-drill upside is calculated at between 60 trillion and 70 trillion cubic feet.

“The Eocene is our primary target," said Mollinger. "We’ve seen the reservoir structures but we need initially to prove the source and not necessarily opt for the most ideal location for development.”

Describing the prospects as “pancake structures (and) big turbidite plays that show up well on the 3D seismic," he added: "We first need to prove they’re filled with hydrocarbons. The source rock is deeper still, probably in the Jurassic, with the reservoirs likely charged from the same source.”

With drilling earmarked in the coming year or so, it is likely that Discover and Bahari will opt for convenience to find a slot in a rig chartered by the likes of Anadarko, ExxonMobil or Eni.

“(We are) just one day’s sailing from the (continental) African coast and (this) would eliminate the cost of re-mobilisation, enabling us to take advantage of low day rates and our flexibility on timing,” said Mollinger.

He added that he believes Discover's acreage has wet-gas potential compared to the dry gas found off northern Mozambique.

Mollinger also believes oil is present, "judging by some 50 tar balls analysed from seepages deemed to have originated from reservoirs close to Comoros".

"They won’t have travelled too far,” he added.

Meanwhile, Discover's Hansa Hydrocarbons acquisition transfers a portfolio that includes the large N05-A gas discovery on the Dutch-German maritime border — a big Rotliegendes reservoir that might help replace declining production from the Netherlands' giant Groningen field.

Discover chief executive Michael Blaha described the North Sea acquisition as ground-breaking, “transforming us into a fully-funded, full-cycle upstream oil and gas company with exploration, appraisal and development assets in Europe, Africa and Australasia”.

Bahari affiliate Calima last week announced completion of a move to place 64,000 fully paid ordinary shares, raising $2.7 million in pre-cost funds ahead of releasing a project update on its Comoros portfolio together with assets in Canada and Western Sahara.

Referring to renewed interest in northwest Africa and the Mozambique Channel, Calima's managing director Alan Stein, doubling as non-executive director for Bahari, said these assets "offer great leverage over two of the most successful global exploration provinces of the 21st century, with minimal capital requirements”.

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Partners set out drilling plans for Comoros trio