Third Ethiopian Duster for Tullow and Africa

摘要

Ethiopia's hopes of joining East Africa's club of new oil countries have taken a knock from the failure of another exploration well to find commercial hydrocarbons. UK-listed Tullow Oil and its Canada-listed partner Africa Oil Corp. said Friday that the Shimela-1 well in the southwesterly Chew Bahir Basin had encountered water-bearing reservoirs and would be plugged and abandoned, marking the third successive exploration well in the South Omo Block to draw a blank. Africa Oil and Tullow said they remained optimistic about prospectivity in the Chew Bahir Basin and they are now moving the rig to drill the Gardim-1 well in a separate subbasin on the same block.