East African Exploration - where are the big fields hiding?
Finding big fields in East Africa
Free
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
London
The Geological Society
East Africa used to be considered an exploration ‘backwater’: the thinking went - perhaps there is some gas but not enough to ever be commercial, not a place to interest ‘serious’ explorers!
Things are changing. The region is seeing a ‘scramble for resources’ - in the East African Rift System all the way from Malawi to Somalia, with the Albertine Basin in Uganda exemplifying what might be available; in the offshore areas of Kenya, Tanzania and Madagascar; ENI may have just made a huge gas discovery in Mozambique; and of course there remains the vast heavy oil potential of Madagascar.
Does this region have the potential for the Giant Fields that will unlock its future and propel it to the front rank of hydrocarbon provinces: perhaps ENI have already answered this question for gas but what about oil? If Yes, does the region have the political, regulatory and fiscal systems that can deal with the transformation that would result?
This April Forum will consider these profound questions, perhaps going as far as to point to those basins, prospects and fields that will turn this into a truly Frontier exploration province!