West Africa
Cobalt is actively pursuing opportunities in West Africa’s prolific deepwater offshore basins. As in the deep water U.S. Gulf of Mexico, much of offshore West Africa has low unit operating and capital costs and transparent, stable fiscal regimes. Additionally, Cobalt believes that the pre-salt geology of offshore West Africa has many similarities to that of offshore Brazil, the location of a number of recent super-giant discoveries. Existing on-shore and near-shore pre-salt fields in West Africa provide additional support for the existence of deepwater pre-salt opportunities.
Over the past 150 million years, rifting and separation of South America from Africa has occurred along much of the Atlantic margin. The pre-rift geology below the salt remains largely unaltered and is consistent from one continent to the other. This has resulted in a series of analogous basins on both sides of the Atlantic. Each of these basins contains a world-class oil-prone source rock and an extensive salt layer, which acts as a regionally extensive seal. Our analysis of both the Brazil and West African continents strongly suggests that features similar to the super-giant Brazilian discoveries also exist in West Africa.
After careful analysis Cobalt acquired a strategically located asset in offshore Gabon, a 21.25 percent interest in the Diaba license operated by Total Gabon. The license covers an area of 3,500 square miles, the equivalent of nearly 400 U.S. Gulf of Mexico blocks in an area two-and-a-half times the size of the State of Rhode Island.
Based upon our extensive seismic data, well and regional databases, and the track record of our scientists and engineers, Cobalt has pursued additional material pre-salt opportunities in Angola. Cobalt has acquired a 40% interest in blocks 9 and 21 and is designated as operator. The combined blocks cover an area of some 3,500 square miles. Cobalt’s position in offshore Angola establishes Cobalt as a major player in the basin, complements our Gabon acreage position, and thus significantly improves Cobalt’s prospectivity and value potential offshore West Africa.
