A Look At the Neighborhood: BG Group Mzia tests show LNG hub development potential

BG Group said the results from a recently completed second drill-stem test (DST) on the Mzia discovery in Block 1, offshore southern Tanzania, provided further support for a hub development to supply a potential onshore LNG project.

The DST on the Mzia-3 appraisal well, drilled in approximately 1 800 metres of water around six kilometres north of the original Mzia-1 discovery, included sustained gas production at a maximum flow rate of 101 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd), equivalent to approximately 17 000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed).

In May 2013, BG Group announced a test on the Mzia-2 well, the first done on a Cretaceous discovery in deep water offshore Tanzania, had flowed at an equipment-constrained rate of 57 mmscfd, or around 9 500 boed.

Sami Iskander, BG Group’s Chief Operating Officer, said, “The excellent results from this latest drill-stem test further reduce reservoir risk, a critical factor as we progress design of the upstream production facilities and infrastructure. Also, the Mzia-3 DST, along with previous appraisal activities, supports our efforts to optimise the value of a development across our Block 1 discoveries.”

Mzia, discovered in 2012, is a multi-layered field of Upper Cretaceous age with a gross gas column in excess of 300 metres. The Mzia and Jodari discoveries in Block 1 are estimated to hold around 9 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of total gross recoverable resources, with around 15 tcf of total gross recoverable resources, around 2.5 billion boe, across Blocks 1, 3 and 4.

The drill ship, the Deepsea Metro-1, will now move north to complete the exploration and appraisal programme on the Block 4 discoveries by drilling the Kamba-1 well.

BG Group has a 60% interest in, and is operator of, Blocks 1, 3 and 4 offshore Tanzania, with Ophir Energy holding 20% and Pavilion Energy 20%.