US energy firm discovers huge gas potential off Senegal

DAKAR, Senegal

U.S. oil and gas exploration company Kosmos Energy on Tuesday confirmed a major gas find offshore Senegal.

“The Yakaar-2 appraisal well has encountered approximately 30 meters of net gas pay in a similar high-quality Cenomanian reservoir to the Yakaar-1 exploration well, continuing the 100% success rate of wells targeting the inboard Mauritania and Senegal gas trend," the company said on its website.

Yakaar-2 was drilled approximately nine kilometers from Yakaar-1 and had proven the company’s estimates of the gas field’s southern extension, it said.

It added that Yakaar-2 has the potential to support a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project that provides significant volumes of natural gas to both domestic and export markets.

“The Yakaar-2 appraisal well demonstrates the scale and quality of the Yakaar resource base,” Andrew G. Inglis, the company’s chairman and chief executive officer, was quoted as saying.

Located offshore Senegal, the Yakaar-2 well was drilled in approximately 2,500 meters of water to a total measured depth of around 4,800 meters.

*Writing by Gozde Bayar