Canada based Africa Oil announced the spudding of the of the Paipai-1 exploration well located in onshore block 10A in Kenya.
The well is expected to be drilled to a total depth of 4,112m and will test Cretaceous and Jurassic sandstone targets.
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The Sakson PR-5 rig will be used to drill the well, which is targeting gross best estimated prospective resources of 121 million barrels.
Africa Oil president and CEO Keith Hill said the Paipai well will test targets in the Anza graben that are similar to the producing basins of Sudan.
"Legacy wells have encountered significant oil and gas shows, but newly acquired seismic surveys have helped improve mapping and identify the Paipai prospect as a favorable and potentially high-impact exploration target," said Hill.
"A discovery at Paipai would extend the producing plays of Sudan into Kenya and open a potentially significant and new petroleum province within Kenya where the company is already implementing an accelerated exploration program after the Ngamia-1 discovery in the Tertiary Rift Play earlier in the year.
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By GlobalData"With plans in place for three drilling rigs to be operational before the end of the year, the Company is entering an exciting period of activity with multiple high impact exploration targets expected to be drilled before the end of 2013."
Tullow Oil is the operator of the well with a 50% working interest while Africa Oil holds a 30% working interest in the Block 10A.
In other operational updates, the company and its partner Tullow will continue drilling operations at the Twiga South-1 well site located in Lokichar sub-basin onshore Block 13T.
Drilling results are expected before the end of October 2012.
Tullow intends to mobilise the OGEC-75 rig for an exploration drilling campaign that is planned to commence with the Sabisa-1 well in the South Omo block in Ethiopia by the end of 2012.
