The Chikumbi-1 well will target a potential 3bn ft3 of in-place gas in the Ntorya accumulation.

In an April 8 operations update, London-listed Scirocco Energy said that preparations had begun on the Chikumbi-1 well at the Ruvuma production sharing contract in Tanzania.

The well is expected to be spudded in November 2022, with all of its “long-lead items contracts” now finalised.

Scirocco owns a 25% non-operated interest in the Ruvuma PSA, but it is preparing to offload its stake in the project, which ARA Petroleum Tanzania operates with 5o% interest. Another London-listed explorer, Aminex, has the remaining 25% interest.

A 338-km2 seismic campaign to map out Ruvuma’s geology has also progressed, and APT now says the target Ntorya accumulation could contain 3 bn ft cubic of in-place gas, of which 2bn ft cubic is thought to be recoverable. Scirocco said the estimates “considerably” surpassed the initial resources assessment.