Tullow Oil has announced that is has plugged and abandoned the Gharabi-1 well in Block 6 offshore Mauritania after drilling proved unsuccessful.
The well intersected poorly developed water-bearing reservoirs, the company said in a stock exchange announcement this morning.
The unsuccessful drilling project will have no implact on Tullow's future plans for its Mauritanian acreage, the company said.
Gharabi-1 was drilled by the Operator Petronas to meet a commitment on the block. It was drilled by the Maersk Deliverer in water depths of 1,787 metres to a total depth of 4,433 metres.
In a note this morning, Goodbody Stockbrokers said the result was "clearly disappointing and highlights the inherent risks associated with exploration." It said the planned scheduled suggested that the rig will now move to drill the Sidewinder well.
Goodbody reiterated its belief, outlined in a report earlier this week, that thre exists a greater bias, and hence higher risk, in the prospects to be drilled in the 2011 drilling schedule towards newer frontiers, such as South America, rather than basins associated with prior success such as Ghana or Uganda.