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Tullow Oil, an Africa-focused oil exploration and production company, announced today that it has encountered about 75 metres of net oil pay in two zones at a well in Northern Kenya.

The company said the well – the Emekuya-1 well – is located in the northern part of the South Lokichar Basin and will later be developed into a full oil field development.

“This well has proven oil charge across a significant part of the Greater Etom structure and we are very encouraged by the quality and particularly the regional extent of the reservoir,” said Angu McCoss, Exploration Director at Tullow Oil. “We now look forward to the remainder of the Kenya exploration and appraisal campaign in support of the ongoing work to prepare this important asset for Full Field Development.”

Tullow Oil is the operator of Blocks 13T and 10BB with 50 percent equity, while Africa Oil Corporation and Maersk Oil own 25 percent interest each. The Emekuya-1 well is located in Block 13T.

“The discovery not only adds more recoverable resources to the current portfolio, but, along with Etom-2 and Erut-1 (wells), establishes the 'northern triangle' part of the South Lokichar Basin as an independent production hub,” Sasikanth Chilukuru, a Morgan Stanley analyst, told Reuters.

Earlier this year, Tullow Oil announced that its Erut-1 well, also located in Block 13T, discovered oil with 25 metres of net oil pay. The company’s latest guidance for discovered resources in the South Lokichar Basin was 750 million barrels, according to Reuters.

Block 13T is located in the onshore North-Central Gregory Rift Basin, in the Turkana region of north-eastern Kenya. Over 750 million barrels of oil have been discovered across eight fields in 13T and the adjacent Block 10BB.

Headquartered in London, Tullow Oil has exploration and production assets in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe. The company is listed on the London, Irish, and Ghanaian stock exchanges. A consortium led by Tullow Oil struck oil in Ghana in 2007 and began commercial production in 2011.