Vaalco Energy has drilled, completed, and placed the ETBNM-3 gas-supply well on production in the crestal part of the North Tchibala structure offshore Gabon. The well targeted the Dentale D-15 reservoir and came in ahead of expectations, with more than 10 meters of net reservoir pay and strong porosity and permeability, beating the estimates Vaalco made before drilling the well.
Vaalco is also looking at shallower pay zones the well passed through on the way down. The D-9 and D-12 intervals appeared to hold wet gas to light oil, giving the company additional targets to evaluate from the same wellbore.
With ETBNM-3 finished, Vaalco moved the Norve jackup, owned by Borr Drilling, on 27 July 2026 to a new slot on the SEENT platform. The rig is now drilling the ETSEM-3PH well, planned first as a pilot hole before it becomes a horizontal Gamba producer. A pilot hole is a narrow test well drilled ahead of a full completion, used to check what a reservoir holds before committing to it.
The ETSEM-3PH location sits near the crest of the central fault block of SE Etame. Vaalco designed the well to test the original field's oil-water contact and to check what the underlying Dentale formation holds there. If the pilot confirms the zone, Vaalco plans a horizontal development well with a 300 meter completion length in the Gamba sands.
