Tullow Oil says that the Dahoma-1 exploration well in the West Cape Three Points licence encountered water bearing reservoirs.

The Dahoma-1 exploration well was drilled 11 kilometres south of Mahogany-3 to explore a down-dip satellite prospect within the southeast Jubilee area, outside of the main Jubilee Unit Area. It intersected 30 metres of good quality sandstone reservoir below a possible oil-water contact and some indications of oil migration point to good potential for oil trapped up-dip.

The Atwood Hunter rig drilled Dahoma-1 to a total depth of 4,390 metres in water depths of 1,564 metres and will now move to drill Mahogany-5 to appraise the up-dip oil accumulations eastwards of Mahogany-3.

A comprehensive drilling programme is planned for the remainder of 2010 and into 2011 targeting a combination of lower-risk and high-impact exploration and appraisal targets. The next high-impact wildcat is Owo-1, in the Deep Water Tano licence, which will be drilled in June with the Sedco-702 rig targeting the upside potential in the greater Tweneboa fan system.

Tullow has a 22.896% interest in the West Cape Three Points licence and its partners are Kosmos Energy (Operator) and a subsidiary of Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, (30.875% each), the E.O. Group (3.5%), Sabre Oil & Gas (1.854%) and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) (10% carried interest).

Tullow (49.95%) operates the Deepwater Tano licence and is partnered by Kosmos Energy (18%), Anadarko Petroleum (18%), Sabre Oil & Gas (4.05%) and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) (10% carried interest).

Angus McCoss, Exploration Director, said, 'Dahoma-1 is the first of 12 wells in our deepwater Ghana Exploration and Appraisal campaign not to encounter hydrocarbons. It was a high-risk well required to evaluate the upside potential of the area by exploring a long way down-dip from known oil. We now look forward to incorporating the data from this well and to pursuing the largely independent and considerable remaining prospectivity in the West Cape Three Points block which we will be drilling through 2010.'