International SoftRock Oil Company Begins Drilling Operations at Bakassi West Exploration Well

International SoftRock Oil Company (TSXV:SOF) reported that, together with its partners in the Bakassi West block in Cameroon, it has commenced drilling operations for an exploration well. The group has accepted delivery of a drilling rig at the site.
As quoted in the press release:

Named the Manatee-1 well, this is  the first high impact exploration well to be drilled by the partners in this shallow water region of the prolific Niger Delta Basin, offshore Cameroon, and will be drilled over approximately 30 days using the Paragon M825 jack-up rig to a depth of 1,550 meters.  The well is being operated by Dana Petroleum and SoftRock’s 10% working interest participation is fully carried by the partners Dana Petroleum and SDX Energy Inc.
The Bakassi West block, which contains a number of discoveries, was the subject of the recently completed 350 km 2D seismic program undertaken by SoftRock and its partners.  The Manatee-1 well is located in the south western corner of the block and is expected to be a stacked 4-way dip closure.  Significantly, the play type is analogous to the Abana field, which is located approximately 7 kms to the southwest, just offsetting the Bakassi West block.  The Abana field had reported recoverable reserves of 85 million barrels of high quality light crude oil which produced at a plateau rate of 30kbopd when it came on stream in 1999.

Don Vandergrift, President and Chief Executive of SoftRock, said:

SoftRock’s vision is to create a material portfolio of near development and producing assets by, in particular, capitalising on the Company’s relationships in West Africa.  Having originally sourced the Bakassi West opportunity, we are very pleased to have attracted a high quality operator in the form of Dana Petroleum and partner SDX Energy Inc, following its merger with Madison Petrogas Ltd..
We are delighted to be drilling our first exploration well, the Manatee-1 well, offshore Niger Delta in Cameroon.  The SoftRock team has significant West African technical experience, including discovery and development of the nearby Abana field.  Like the Abana field, a discovery on Manatee-1 has the potential to be fast-tracked through development into production and given its location it is likely to be a low-cost development.  In addition, a discovery on Manatee-1 will significantly contribute to the validation of other nearby opportunities which we currently view optimistically.

Click here for the full press release.