AfrOil: APT may be able to launch Ntorya gas production early

ARA Petroleum Tanzania Ltd (APT) is looking to launch commercial production at the Ntorya natural gas field in southern Tanzania almost a year ahead of schedule despite a setback in its drilling schedule.

According to Aminex (Ireland), a non-operating shareholder in Ruvuma, APT pushed the target date for spudding the Chikumbi-1 (CH-1) well at Ntorya back to March 2023 after receiving new information on rig availability and consulting with Tanzanian authorities and its contractors. It has also reached an advanced state of negotiations with Tanzania Petroleum Development Corp. (TPDC), the national oil company (NOC), on speeding up development operations at Ntorya.

Once drilling work at the CH-1 site is completed, it explained, the new well can be brought online and production restored at two suspended wells, Ntorya-1 and -2 (NT-1 and -2). Gas will start flowing in early 2024, nearly 12 months ahead of the originally projected start date, Aminex said.