Oil and gas explorer Tullow Oil has announced the hiring of a drillship to support its drilling operations for a three-well campaign beginning in October.
The company has now hired the Stena Drilling-owned Stena Forth, a sixth-generation drillship, to work on its drilling program in the country.
Tullow in in March this year started drilling with the Maersk Venturer on the two fields its operates-the Jubilee and Tweneboa, Enyenra, Ntomme (TEN).
The rig is contracted for an initial three-well campaign with flexible extension options and is due to start drilling in October 2018, Tullow said on Thursday.
The Government of Ghana approved the Greater Jubilee Full Field Development Plan in October 2017, following a conclusion of maritime border ruling a month earlier.
The company explained that this additional rig capacity will enable Tullow to carry out simultaneous drilling and completion activity, allowing the tie-in of new wells to be brought forward.
The deployment of the second rig is expected to be managed within the existing 2018 Ghana capex budget as the first rig, the Maersk Venturer, began drilling later than initially planned.
Three wells have been drilled in the first half of the year; a production well in the Ntomme area of TEN and two production wells at Jubilee.
Tullow said that the rig is now being prepared for well completions, and the Ntomme well will be brought on stream in August 2018.
In the first half of 2018, gross production from the Jubilee field is expected to average 65,700 bopd (net: 23,300 bopd). Production in the first half of the year is slightly below expectations due to downtime related to maintenance work on the gas compression system.
Tullow forecasts full year gross production from the Jubilee field to average around 78,100 bopd (net: 27,700 bopd), up from 75,800 bopd gross (net: 26,900 bopd) previously guided.
The TEN fields performed well in the first half of 2018, with gross production expected to average around 65,100 bopd (net: 30,700 bopd).
Tullow hires second Ghana rig
