Paper Summary

Recent exploration in Liberia has not provided the commercial success we all want, with the most recent well, Mesurado-1 (drilled by ExxonMobil in Block 13 in approximately 2,500m water) coming up dry. TGS feel that history is repeating itself with stratigraphic traps with strong AVO support being drilled and not producing a success. There is a working petroleum system, proved by sub-commercial discoveries, and Mesurado-1 provided a much needed boost to the understanding of reservoir quality, as 118m of good quality Santonian were logged (COPL press release, 19 December 2016). With all the pieces of the play puzzle in place, TGS has decided a fresh approach is needed to prospectivity hunting and has therefore begun a new wave of interpretation of the seismic data to help solve the puzzle and unlock the treasures buried offshore