Oil and gas exploration company Kosmos Energy has announced plans to abandon the Pontoenoe-1 offshore exploration well in Block 42 off the coast of Suriname as it failed to find oil.
The well, situated 280km northwest of Paramaribo in about 2,497m of water, was drilled to a total depth of nearly 6,194m.
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Kosmos said it found high-quality reservoir at the Pontoenoe-1 well, but the primary exploration objective proved to be water-bearing and did not locate commercial hydrocarbons.
The company added the offshore exploration well will be plugged and abandoned, and related results integrated into its ongoing evaluation of the remaining prospectivity.
Kosmos Energy chairman and CEO Andrew Inglis said: “We are in the early stages of exploring the emerging Suriname-Guyana basin and given the indications of a mature source, quality Cretaceous reservoir, and the independent nature of the prospectivity we believe there is significant remaining potential in Block 42. Our current plan is to test the next prospect in 2020.”
The company holds rights in Block 42 under a production sharing contract with the Suriname Government’s Staatsolie Maatschappij Suriname.
Kosmos is the exploration operator of the Block 42, while Hess and Chevron each hold 33.3% interests.
The company also said that production in Ghana is growing after the Jubilee turret remediation work and the new wells brought online at Jubilee as well as TEN during the quarter.
Last month, Kosmos Energy announced the closing of Deep Gulf Energy (DGE) acquisition for $1.225bn. The deal expands its deepwater Atlantic Margin portfolio.
The transaction is immediately accretive to the company and is expected to generate free cash flow.
