Radio silence from CNOOC on Africa wildcat

China’s CNOOC Ltd has completed its first wildcat offshore Gabon and is now drilling ahead on its second frontier probe in the West African nation.

These are the first deep-water wells to be drilled in the country for years, with most exploration activity to date centred on shallow-water operations controlled by the likes of Perenco, BW Energy and Vaalco.

Drilled by drillship Stena IceMax, CNOOC Ltd’s Tigre-1 probe spudded in Block BC-9 at the end of January and was completed in mid-February.