Corcel PLC has announced that the Tobias-14 well ("TO-14") in Block KON-11 in Angola has been spudded. The company has a 20% working interest (18% net) in the block, with Sonangol as the operator. This follows positive initial results from the TO-13 well. Corcel's Executive Chairman, Antoine Karam, expects a similar timeline for results as with TO-13 and looks forward to initial flow testing once the target depth is reached.

The consortium working on Block KON-11 is now taking steps towards implementing an early production system (EPS) following the positive results from TO-13. A well testing program for both TO-13 and TO-14 will commence after the TO-14 well reaches total depth, with the objective of flowing both wells and designing an EPS. Reactivating production in the onshore Kwanza Basin, which has been shut-in since the 1990s, is an important milestone for the Angolan oil industry and Corcel.

Block KON-11 includes the historically producing Tobias field, which has been inactive since the late 1990s. The field has 12 historic vertical wells, and Corcel believes that revised interpretation of the existing structures, along with modern drilling and completion technology, could lead to a higher Original Oil in Place (OOIP) figure. The traditional Tobias field reservoir is in the Binga limestone, with a depth of approximately 700m and 4-14% primary rock porosity. Historic peak production at Tobias was 17,500 bbls/d, with 29 MMbbls produced over the life of the field.

Corcel estimates unproduced contingent oil resources of 65 MMbls, with 11.7 MMbls net to the company. The field will qualify for marginal field fiscal terms, resulting in advantageous royalty, tax, and depreciation regimes as outlined by the Angolan government. The company will provide further updates on the progress at Block KON-11 in due course.