The well, with a planned depth of 1,700m, will target the upper to lower cretaceous sandstone reservoirs that have proved highly productive in other producing fields in the Muglad Basin. The gross unrisked recoverable prospective resource for the Wan Machar prospect is estimated at 1.54 billion barrels of oil.
The partners in Block 5B are Petronas Carigali White Nile 5B with a 39% stake, Lundin Petroleum with 24.5%, ONGC Videsh with 23.5% and Sudapet with a 13% stake. The operator of Block 5B is the White Nile Petroleum Operating Company, a joint venture between Sudapet and Petronas.
Lundin noted that the partnership has accepted the recommendation of the National Petroleum Commission to assign a 10% share to the National Oil Company of Southern Sudan to be allocated on a pro-rata basis from each of the partners’ shares.
Ashley Heppenstall, president and CEO of Lundin Petroleum, said: Wan Machar is a world-class exploration prospect which if successful will transform Lundin Petroleum. We remain optimistic on the overall prospectivity of the Muglad Basin and its extension into Block 5B, an area of over 20,000sqkm which is virtually unexplored to date.
