African Petroleum has announced that the Ophir Energy operated Ayamé-1X exploration well, offshore Côte d’Ivoire, has spudded by the end of April using the Seadrill West Saturn drillship, Petroleum Africa reported.

According to Energy Pedia, the interests of the license are divided between African Petroleum, which acquires a 45% interest, Ophir Energy, that holds 45%, and PETROCI, that controls the remaining 10%.

The Ayamé -1X well, located on the CI-513 license, will be targeting Santonian and Turonian turbidite channel complexes through a water depth of 2,835 meters, with planned total depth of 5,459 meters. The well is predicted to reach TD in estimated 30 days from spud.

African Petroleum’s CEO, Jens Pace, noted, “This is a material milestone for the Company and one which we have been working towards with our partners since Ophir Energy joined the license in March 2016.  Since this time, the partnership has carried out technical work to decide on the best location for this well.  The Ayamé West prospect that we are targeting has a significant resource number and a commercial discovery will be truly transformational for African Petroleum. We look forward to updating the market with the outcome of this exciting event.”