FAR makes further progress offshore Senegal

Drilling of a fifth appraisal well into what may become one of the more promising basins off the West African coast is completed, FAR Ltd. announced.

FAR is said its SNE-5 appraisal well reached the total depth necessary to sample its target.

"To date, the operations have been completed safely and ahead of schedule," the company stated.

FAR has nearly 3,000 square miles off the coast of Senegal under license and achieved discoveries already from its FAN and SNE wells. By the third quarter of 2016, the company said the SNE oil field in particular met the minimum threshold to be considered a commercial opportunity. That statement came less than two years after the field was discovered.

The company said a sixth appraisal was under way in an effort to help with the understanding of the characteristics of the SNE reservoir "and ensure potential development wells in these units are placed to optimize oil recovery and maximize value per well."

By the company's estimates, more than 1.5 billion barrels of oil may be in basins off the coast of Senegal.

A January report from the International Monetary Fund said the economic situation in Senegal is stable and inflationary pressures are low. The potential for foreign direct investments, meanwhile, is high because of recent offshore oil and gas discoveries.