An oil offshore has been discovered in Democratic Republic of Congo. Perenco, made the discovery marking the first exploration success in the region in nearly 30 years.
This discovery was made by Perenco’s subsidiary, Muanda International Oil Company (MIOC), through the drilling of two exploration wells in 2024 using the Nuada self-elevated class 82 SD-C jack-up drilling rig.
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Exploration
The Moke-East well, located between the Lukami and Motoba fields in the DRC coastal basin, uncovered a 24ft net oil-bearing column. Encouraged by these initial results, MIOC is proceeding with the development drilling campaign offshore DRC. The Nuada rig has now commenced drilling the first of 12 wells in the GCO field, a project expected to span the next 12 months. This development effort is running concurrently with operations by the CS02 Workover unit at the same site.
However, the second exploration well, LUKS-A, targeting the southern extension of the Pinda formation, was found to have insufficient hydrocarbon potential and has been plugged and abandoned. Frédéric Kiepferle, Perenco DRC’s general manager, expressed optimism about the Moke-East well’s initial findings and emphasized Perenco’s commitment to discovering new resources in the DRC.
This discovery follows Perenco’s recent acquisition of stakes in several non-core oil permits from Eni for $300 million, reinforcing its presence in the region. Additionally, TotalEnergies recently expanded its operations in the DRC by acquiring an additional 10% interest in the Moho offshore field from Trident Energy.
