US-based energy major ExxonMobil has completed drilling operations at the Likembe – 01 research well offshore Angola.

According to the National Agency of Oil, Gas and Biofuels (ANPG), the country’s concessionaire and energy regulator, the drilling confirmed the existence of high-quality sand packages impregnated with hydrocarbons.

The well is located in the Kizomba B development area, in Block 15, operated by ExxonMobil, in partnership with Angola’s national oil company Sonanagol and international energy firms Equinor (Norway) and Azule Energy, an Angola-focused joint venture between BP and Eni (Italy).

The research well was drilled between February and April in a water depth of 1,200 metres, and has reached a final depth of 3,013 metres, the ANPG said in a statement on May 13.

Likembe-01 is the first well drilled under the preliminary agreements of the Incremental Production project aiming to provide incentives to investors to produce additional volumes in the concessions currently in production, the regulator revealed.

Block 15 is one of Angola’s largest oil-producing blocks, however, crude production from its mature fields has been declining in recent years. ExxonMobil holds a 40% interest in the block, which is one of the three deepwater blocks operated by the company offshore Angola.

According to ExxonMobil data, the block has a recoverable resource potential of approximately 4bn barrels of oil equivalent (boe) on a gross basis. Since its inception in 2003, more than 2.2bn boe have been produced from this block.