(Ecofin Agency) - Hyperdynamics Corporation has received an improved exploration risk assessment of the Fatala 1 and Buried Hill 1 deepwater prospects, increasing its chances of a successful drilling operation offshore Guinea.

According to the company, the assessment is coming after the reprocessing of 3D seismic data by eSeis on the two prospects, by means of a more advanced technology that produced perfect images of the geologic characteristics of the projects.Through this imaging, Netherland, Sewell & Associates, Inc., (NSAI) was able to increase the chances of success for the Fatala 1 prospect from 25% to 31%, and for the Buried Hill 1 prospect from 20% to 24%.

NSAI also noted that both prospects represent low risk exploration.“We are delighted with the results of this latest evaluation of our top Guinea prospects which lay in a largely untested basin offshore West Africa. De-risking drilling prospects as much as possible is a critical part of the exploration process, and the reprocessing work eSeis conducted produced a much more coherent and cleaner 3D seismic view that suggests direct evidence of hydrocarbons, good quality sandstones, and effective trapping seals,” Ray Leonard, Hyperdynamics’ President and Chief Executive Officer, said.

NSAI’s estimates the prospective resource potential of all drilling prospects and leads in Hyperdynamics’ 5,000 km² concession area to be 4.8 billion barrels of recoverable hydrocarbon resources. This includes over 2 billion barrels of recoverable resources in prospects with a 20% chance of success or higher, Offshore Energy Today reports.

Anita Fatunji